Runs a hypothesis-driven threat hunt for Volume Shadow Copy deletion (T1490) by querying SIEM/EDR telemetry for vssadmin, wmic shadowcopy, and PowerShell shadow-copy-deletion commands. Use when hunting for ransomware preparation or anti-forensics activity, after threat intel flags active campaigns, or when alerts trigger on shadow-copy deletion commands.
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Use hunting-for-shadow-copy-deletion to run a hypothesis-driven hunt for shadow-copy deletion across [authorized SIEM/EDR telemetry, hosts, and time range], covering vssadmin, WMIC, PowerShell, and recovery-disabling activity; deliver a T1490 hunt report with evidence, confidence, risk, and recommended response actions.
Required inputs
[authorized SIEM/EDR telemetry, hosts, and time range]
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SKILL.md
name: hunting-for-shadow-copy-deletiondescription: Runs a hypothesis-driven threat hunt for Volume Shadow Copy deletion (T1490) by querying SIEM/EDR telemetry for vssadmin, wmic shadowcopy, and PowerShell shadow-copy-deletion commands. Use when hunting for ransomware preparation or anti-forensics activity, after threat intel flags active campaigns, or when alerts trigger on shadow-copy deletion commands.domain: cybersecuritysubdomain: threat-huntingtags: - threat-hunting- mitre-attack- shadow-copy- ransomware- anti-forensics- t1490- proactive-detectionversion: '1.0'author: mahipallicense: Apache-2.0d3fend_techniques: - Platform Hardening- Restore Object- Restore Configuration- Restore Software- Software Updatenist_csf: - DE.CM-01- DE.AE-02- DE.AE-07- ID.RA-05mitre_attack: - T1046- T1057- T1082- T1083- T1486
Hunting For Shadow Copy Deletion
When to Use
When proactively hunting for indicators of hunting for shadow copy deletion in the environment
After threat intelligence indicates active campaigns using these techniques
During incident response to scope compromise related to these techniques
When EDR or SIEM alerts trigger on related indicators
During periodic security assessments and purple team exercises
Prerequisites
EDR platform with process and network telemetry (CrowdStrike, MDE, SentinelOne)
SIEM with relevant log data ingested (Splunk, Elastic, Sentinel)
Sysmon deployed with comprehensive configuration
Windows Security Event Log forwarding enabled
Threat intelligence feeds for IOC correlation
Workflow
Formulate Hypothesis: Define a testable hypothesis based on threat intelligence or ATT&CK gap analysis.
Identify Data Sources: Determine which logs and telemetry are needed to validate or refute the hypothesis.
Execute Queries: Run detection queries against SIEM and EDR platforms to collect relevant events.
Analyze Results: Examine query results for anomalies, correlating across multiple data sources.
Validate Findings: Distinguish true positives from false positives through contextual analysis.
Correlate Activity: Link findings to broader attack chains and threat actor TTPs.
Document and Report: Record findings, update detection rules, and recommend response actions.
Key Concepts
Concept
Description
T1490
Inhibit System Recovery
T1486
Data Encrypted for Impact
T1485
Data Destruction
Tools & Systems
Tool
Purpose
CrowdStrike Falcon
EDR telemetry and threat detection
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Advanced hunting with KQL
Splunk Enterprise
SIEM log analysis with SPL queries
Elastic Security
Detection rules and investigation timeline
Sysmon
Detailed Windows event monitoring
Velociraptor
Endpoint artifact collection and hunting
Sigma Rules
Cross-platform detection rule format
Common Scenarios
Scenario 1: Ransomware deleting shadow copies before encryption