Sigma rule: Powershell Timestomp

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-01db7e682617, updated 2022-12-25T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title: Powershell Timestomp
Status: test
Level: medium
Author: frack113
Date: 2021-08-03
Modified: 2022-12-25
File: rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_timestomp.yml
Commit: ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Adversaries may modify file time attributes to hide new or changes to existing files.
Timestomping is a technique that modifies the timestamps of a file (the modify, access, create, and change times), often to mimic files that are in the same folder.

Log source

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

Detection

selection_ioc:
    ScriptBlockText|contains:
        - '.CreationTime ='
        - '.LastWriteTime ='
        - '.LastAccessTime ='
        - '[IO.File]::SetCreationTime'
        - '[IO.File]::SetLastAccessTime'
        - '[IO.File]::SetLastWriteTime'
condition: selection_ioc

False positives (as the rule lists them)

Legitimate admin script

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

T1070.006

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_timestomp.yml

Sources and licences

SigmaHQ
"Powershell Timestomp" by frack113 (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/powershell/powershell_script/posh_ps_timestomp.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 Timestomp",
entity page, dataset version ref-01db7e682617, updated 2022-12-25T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/c6438007-e081-42ce-9483-b067fbef33c3 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule c6438007-e081-42ce-9483-b067fbef33c3, 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.