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Detection Strategies DET0416 — Detection of File Transfer Protocol-Based C2 (FTP, FTPS, SMB, TFTP)
DET0416

Detection of File Transfer Protocol-Based C2 (FTP, FTPS, SMB, TFTP)

5 analytic(s) · 1 technique(s) detected

Analytics

5
AN1169 Analytic 1169
Windows

Detects FTP, SMB, or TFTP traffic initiated by suspicious processes like PowerShell, cmd.exe, or rundll32.exe—especially with large outbound file transfers or unbalanced traffic volume.

WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=3, 22 WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1 NSM:Flow ftp.log, smb_files.log
[ProcessImageFilter] Limit to non-standard FTP clients or suspicious binaries (e.g., cmd, mshta)
[DataFlowDirectionThreshold] Ratio of outbound:inbound bytes; e.g., >90% outbound
[FilenamePattern] Suspicious file extensions or naming (e.g., .zip, .rar, random hash names)
AN1170 Analytic 1170
Linux

Detects usage of FTP, SCP, or TFTP by non-interactive shells or automation scripts transferring large data volumes to untrusted IPs.

auditd:SYSCALL execve NSM:Flow ftp.log, conn.log
[TransferSizeThreshold] Bytes sent in FTP upload or SCP push
[CommandLinePatternMatch] e.g., scp -r /var/log/* or ftp upload scripts
AN1171 Analytic 1171
macOS

Detects Automator, AppleScript, or Terminal executing curl, lftp, or TFTP for binary transfer to untrusted IPs or unusual ports.

macos:osquery socket_events macos:unifiedlog log stream --predicate
[FilePathAccessed] e.g., ~/Documents, ~/Library/logs/
[NetworkPortAnomaly] Non-standard FTP/TFTP ports used (e.g., FTP over 443)
AN1172 Analytic 1172
ESXi

Detects file movement or outbound TFTP/FTP transfers from ESXi host initiated via shell commands or injected scripts, particularly from scratch partitions or /tmp.

esxi:shell /root/.ash_history NSM:Flow mirror/SPAN port
[TransferTargetDomainOrIP] Public IPs or domains not belonging to known ESXi mgmt infra
[SourceDirectoryFilter] Monitor transfers from /tmp/, /etc/, /vmfs/volumes/
AN1173 Analytic 1173
Network Devices

Detects internal hosts generating large outbound FTP/TFTP/SMB sessions to external IPs, or file transfers using non-standard ports and application mismatches (e.g., FTP over port 80).

NSM:Flow ftp.log, conn.log, smb_files.log
[AppLayerProtocolMatch] e.g., FTP/SMB observed over uncommon ports
[OutboundDataRateThreshold] Bytes transferred outside trusted subnets >100MB

Detected Techniques

1

Details

MITRE ID
DET0416
STIX ID
x-mitre-detection-strategy--1fba9af9-8087-4958-90c0-ecdd8c887f6f
Analytics
5
Techniques Detected
1
By Tactic
Command & Control
1
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