Sigma rule: Periodic Backup For System Registry Hives Enabled

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-fdbe24b62f4d, updated 2024-07-01T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Periodic Backup For System Registry Hives Enabled
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2024-07-01
File
rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_enable_periodic_backup.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the enabling of the "EnablePeriodicBackup" registry value. Once enabled, The OS will backup System registry hives on restarts to the "C:\Windows\System32\config\RegBack" folder. Windows creates a "RegIdleBackup" task to manage subsequent backups.
Registry backup was a default behavior on Windows and was disabled as of "Windows 10, version 1803".

Log source

product
windows
category
registry_set

Detection

selection:
    TargetObject|endswith: '\Control\Session Manager\Configuration Manager\EnablePeriodicBackup'
    Details: 'DWORD (0x00000001)'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate need for RegBack feature by administrators.

Tags

  • attack.collection
  • attack.t1113

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/registry/registry_set/registry_set_enable_periodic_backup.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Periodic Backup For System Registry Hives Enabled" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_enable_periodic_backup.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: Periodic Backup For System Registry Hives Enabled",
entity page, dataset version ref-fdbe24b62f4d, updated 2024-07-01T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/973ef012-8f1a-4c40-93b4-7e659a5cd17f (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 973ef012-8f1a-4c40-93b4-7e659a5cd17f, 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.