One of the most common initial access vectors into environments by threat actors is through use of legitimate RMM tooling, offering both hands-on-keyboard access as well as stealth. Read more below for some considerations on detecting such activity.
The first entry in the Detection Deep Dive series: mapping encoded PowerShell execution to detection logic in Microsoft Defender, tuning out the false positives, and knowing what the detection can’t see.
An AI-powered PhaaS campaign leaned on legit-vendor redirects and device-code phishing — but spoofing left a fingerprint. One KQL query plus a 5-minute MDE automation loop neutralized over 1,200 malicious emails in 48 hours.
In an active breach, speed is everything. These five KQL queries — covering file drops, identity compromise, lateral movement, C2 beaconing, and persistence — are designed for the first hour of incident response.