Sigma rule: Silence.EDA Detection

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-8348feab4b36, updated 2023-04-03T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Silence.EDA Detection
Status
test
Level
critical
Author
Alina Stepchenkova, Group-IB, oscd.community
Date
2019-11-01
Modified
2023-04-03
File
rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_apt_silence_eda.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects Silence EmpireDNSAgent as described in the Group-IP report

Log source

product
windows
category
ps_script
definition
Requirements: Script Block Logging must be enabled

Detection

empire:
    # better to randomise the order
    ScriptBlockText|contains|all:
        - 'System.Diagnostics.Process'
        - 'Stop-Computer'
        - 'Restart-Computer'
        - 'Exception in execution'
        - '$cmdargs'
        - 'Close-Dnscat2Tunnel'
dnscat:
    # better to randomise the order
    ScriptBlockText|contains|all:
        - 'set type=$LookupType`nserver'
        - '$Command | nslookup 2>&1 | Out-String'
        - 'New-RandomDNSField'
        - '[Convert]::ToString($SYNOptions, 16)'
        - '$Session.Dead = $True'
        - '$Session["Driver"] -eq'
condition: empire and dnscat

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.t1059.001
  • attack.command-and-control
  • attack.t1071.004
  • attack.t1572
  • attack.impact
  • attack.t1529
  • attack.g0091
  • attack.s0363

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_apt_silence_eda.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Silence.EDA Detection" by Alina Stepchenkova, Group-IB, oscd.community (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_apt_silence_eda.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Silence.EDA Detection",
entity page, dataset version ref-8348feab4b36, updated 2023-04-03T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/3ceb2083-a27f-449a-be33-14ec1b7cc973 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 3ceb2083-a27f-449a-be33-14ec1b7cc973, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.