Sigma rule: PowerShell Web Download

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-e4f8a04be5d9, updated 2025-07-18T00:00:00.000Z.

SigmaHQ marks this rule as deprecated.

Rule

Title
PowerShell Web Download
Status
deprecated
Level
medium
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-03-24
Modified
2025-07-18
File
deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_powershell_download_cradles.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects suspicious ways to download files or content using PowerShell

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - '.DownloadString('
        - '.DownloadFile('
        - 'Invoke-WebRequest '
        - 'iwr '
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Scripts or tools that download files

Tags

  • attack.command-and-control
  • attack.execution
  • attack.t1059.001
  • attack.t1105

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/deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_powershell_download_cradles.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "PowerShell Web Download" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/deprecated/windows/proc_creation_win_powershell_download_cradles.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: PowerShell Web Download",
entity page, dataset version ref-e4f8a04be5d9, updated 2025-07-18T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/6e897651-f157-4d8f-aaeb-df8151488385 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 6e897651-f157-4d8f-aaeb-df8151488385, 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.