title: Suspicious Hyper-V Cmdlets
id: 42d36aa1-3240-4db0-8257-e0118dcdd9cd
status: test
description: Adversaries may carry out malicious operations using a virtual instance to avoid detection
references:
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/quick-start/enable-hyper-v
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1564.006/T1564.006.md#atomic-test-3---create-and-start-hyper-v-virtual-machine
author: frack113
date: 2022-04-09
tags:
- attack.stealth
- attack.t1564.006
logsource:
product: windows
category: ps_script
definition: 'Requirements: Script Block Logging must be enabled'
detection:
selection:
ScriptBlockText|contains:
- New-VM
- Set-VMFirmware
- Start-VM
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- Legitimate PowerShell scripts
level: medium
title: Virtualbox Driver Installation or Starting of VMs
id: bab049ca-7471-4828-9024-38279a4c04da
status: test
description: Adversaries can carry out malicious operations using a virtual instance to avoid detection. This rule is built to detect the registration of the Virtualbox driver or start of a Virtualbox VM.
references:
- https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2020/05/21/ragnar-locker-ransomware-deploys-virtual-machine-to-dodge-security/
- https://threatpost.com/maze-ransomware-ragnar-locker-virtual-machine/159350/
author: Janantha Marasinghe
date: 2020-09-26
modified: 2025-07-29
tags:
- attack.stealth
- attack.t1564.006
- attack.t1564
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection_1:
CommandLine|contains:
- 'VBoxRT.dll,RTR3Init'
- 'VBoxC.dll'
- 'VBoxDrv.sys'
selection_2:
CommandLine|contains:
- 'startvm'
- 'controlvm'
condition: 1 of selection_*
falsepositives:
- This may have false positives on hosts where Virtualbox is legitimately being used for operations
level: low