Critical Ransomware TLP:CLEAR

Qilin Ransomware

Threat Hunting Guide • 4-6 hours

#1 ransomware threat to US SLTT organizations in Q2 2025. Covers GPO-based Chrome credential harvesting, BYOVD EDR evasion with dark.sys, Veeam backup targeting, and detection rules for Splunk, KQL, and Sigma.

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Hunt Modules
10
⏱️
Duration
4-6 hrs
💀
Confirmed Victims
792+
Avg Dwell Time
18+ days
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Origin
Russia
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Download Full Hunting Guide

Complete guide with 10 hunt modules, step-by-step procedures, detection queries (Splunk, KQL, Sigma), and IOCs.

10 Hunt Modules

1
Initial Access - VPN & Phishing Detection
30 min • Critical
2
Veeam & Backup Infrastructure Targeting
30 min • Critical
3
Chrome Credential Harvesting via GPO
45 min • Critical
4
Credential Dumping & WDigest Abuse
30 min • High
5
BYOVD EDR Evasion (dark.sys)
30 min • Critical
6
Remote Access Tools (RMM Abuse)
30 min • High
7
Data Exfiltration (Cyberduck/Cloud)
30 min • High
8
Lateral Movement & PsExec
30 min • High
9
Pre-Encryption Indicators
30 min • Critical
10
C2 Communication (Cobalt Strike/SystemBC)
30 min • High

Detection Rules

Copy these queries to detect Qilin activity in your environment.

VPN Access from Multiple Countries

index=vpn_logs action=success
| iplocation src_ip
| stats dc(Country) as country_count, values(Country) as countries by user
| where country_count > 1
| sort -country_count

Veeam Backup Job Modification

index=veeam_logs (action="JobDeleted" OR action="JobDisabled" OR action="TapeDeleted")
| stats count by action, job_name, user
| sort -count

Shadow Copy Deletion

index=windows sourcetype=WinEventLog:Security
(CommandLine="*vssadmin*delete*" OR CommandLine="*wmic*shadowcopy*delete*")
| stats count by ComputerName, User, CommandLine

Need More Detection Rules?

The full guide includes 15+ additional detection signatures and YARA rules.

Download Full Guide

Disclaimer: These detection rules are provided for defensive security purposes. Always test rules in a non-production environment before deployment. Rules may require tuning for your specific environment. Sources: Cisco Talos, Sophos X-Ops.

Key Indicators

File Names

w.exe, encryptor_1.exe, encryptor_2.exe, dark.sys, HRSword.exe, pars.vbs, logon.bat

Registry Keys

WDigest\UseLogonCredential=1
Terminal Server\fDenyTSConnections=0
Lsa\DisableRestrictedAdmin=0

CVEs Exploited

CVE-2023-27532 (Veeam)
CVE-2024-21762 (FortiOS)
CVE-2024-55591 (FortiOS)

Tools Used

Cobalt Strike, SystemBC, Mimikatz (Themida), Cyberduck, AnyDesk, PsExec

Full IOC list with SHA256 hashes and IP addresses available in the PDF download.

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