Sigma rule: Powershell Sensitive File Discovery

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-f09d0dcc988a, updated 2026-10-14T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Powershell Sensitive File Discovery
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
frack113
Date
2022-09-16
Modified
2026-10-14
File
rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_sensitive_file_discovery.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detect adversaries enumerate sensitive files

Log source

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

Detection

selection_action:
    # Whole words only: as plain substrings, 'ls' and 'gci' also match words such as 'false' or 'credentials'
    ScriptBlockText|re|i: '\b(?:get-childitem|gci|ls|dir)\b'
selection_recurse:
    ScriptBlockText|contains: '-recurse'
selection_file:
    ScriptBlockText|contains:
        - '.pass'
        - '.kdbx'
        - '.kdb'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.discovery
  • attack.t1083

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/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_sensitive_file_discovery.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Powershell Sensitive File Discovery" by frack113 (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_sensitive_file_discovery.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 Sensitive File Discovery",
entity page, dataset version ref-f09d0dcc988a, updated 2026-10-14T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/7d416556-6502-45b2-9bad-9d2f05f38997 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 7d416556-6502-45b2-9bad-9d2f05f38997, 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.