Sigma rule: Sysinternals PsSuspend Execution

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-3da6d518280c, updated 2026-06-29T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Sysinternals PsSuspend Execution
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-03-23
Modified
2026-06-29
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_sysinternals_pssuspend_execution.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects usage of Sysinternals PsSuspend which can be abused to suspend critical processes

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    - OriginalFileName: 'pssuspend.exe'
    - Image|endswith:
          - '\pssuspend.exe'
          - '\pssuspend64.exe'
          - '\pssuspend64a.exe'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.privilege-escalation
  • attack.discovery
  • attack.persistence
  • attack.t1543.003

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

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/process_creation/proc_creation_win_sysinternals_pssuspend_execution.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Sysinternals PsSuspend Execution" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_sysinternals_pssuspend_execution.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: Sysinternals PsSuspend Execution",
entity page, dataset version ref-3da6d518280c, updated 2026-06-29T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/48bbc537-b652-4b4e-bd1d-281172df448f (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 48bbc537-b652-4b4e-bd1d-281172df448f, 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.