Sigma rule: Compress-Archive Cmdlet Execution

Rule

Title

Compress-Archive Cmdlet Execution

Status

test

Level

low

Author

Timur Zinniatullin, oscd.community

Date

2019-10-21

Modified

2023-12-15

File

rules-threat-hunting/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_compress_archive_usage.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects PowerShell scripts that make use of the "Compress-Archive" cmdlet in order to compress folders and files.
An adversary might compress data (e.g., sensitive documents) that is collected prior to exfiltration in order to make it portable and minimize the amount of data sent over the network.

Log source

product

windows

category

ps_script

definition

Requirements: Script Block Logging must be enabled

Detection

selection:
    ScriptBlockText|contains: 'Compress-Archive'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• Likely

Tags

• attack.exfiltration
• attack.collection
• attack.t1560
• detection.threat-hunting

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

• T1560

References

• https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1560/T1560.md

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