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Detection Strategies DET0054 — Internal Spearphishing via Trusted Accounts
DET0054

Internal Spearphishing via Trusted Accounts

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

Analytics

5
AN0147 Analytic 0147
Windows

Sequence of internal email sent from a recently compromised user account (preceded by abnormal logon or device activity), with attachments or links leading to execution or credential harvesting. Defender observes: internal mail delivery to peers with high entropy attachments, followed by click events, process initiation, or credential prompts.

WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4624, 4648 WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4625 WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4672 m365:unified SendOnBehalf, MessageSend, ClickThrough, MailItemsAccessed WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1
[TimeWindow] Expected time between internal email and link execution or file dropper
[UserContext] Baseline logon locations and device usage for sender accounts
[AttachmentEntropyThreshold] Entropy value over which attachment is considered suspicious
AN0148 Analytic 0148
Linux

Delivery of suspicious internal communication (e.g., Thunderbird, Evolution) using compromised internal accounts. Sequence of: unexpected user activity + mail transfer logs + download or execution of attachments.

auditd:SYSCALL execve Application:Mail smtpd$.*$: .*from=[.*@internaldomain.com](mailto:.*@internaldomain.com) to=[.*@internaldomain.com](mailto:.*@internaldomain.com) linux:syslog curl|wget|python .*http
[SubjectLineAnomaly] Deviation from typical internal email subjects
[AttachmentType] Executable types allowed or flagged by mail relay
AN0149 Analytic 0149
macOS

Abnormal Apple Mail use, including internal email relays followed by file execution or script events (e.g., attachments launched via Preview, terminal triggered from Mail.app)

macos:unifiedlog com.apple.mail.* exec.* macos:unifiedlog curl|osascript.*open location
[ExecutionChainDepth] Number of child processes stemming from Mail.app
[MailScriptFlag] Toggle on scripting detection within mail context
AN0150 Analytic 0150
SaaS

Internal spearphishing via SaaS applications (e.g., Slack, Teams, Gmail): message sent from compromised user with attachment or URL, followed by click and credential access behavior.

saas:slack file_upload, message_send, message_click
[UserAnomalyThreshold] Volume or timing of messages sent after compromise
[FileRiskScoring] Whether SaaS DLP assigns risk scores to attachments
AN0151 Analytic 0151
Office Suite

Outlook or Word used to forward suspicious internal attachments with macro content. Defender observes attachment forwarding, auto-opening behaviors, or macro prompt interactions.

m365:unified SendOnBehalf, MessageSend, AttachmentPreviewed WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4103, 4104, 4105, 4106
[MacroExecutionWindow] Timing between mail open and macro invocation
[AttachmentNameHeuristics] Patterns of known internal spearphishing lures (e.g., invoice, HR_policy)

Detected Techniques

1

Lateral Movement (1)

Details

MITRE ID
DET0054
STIX ID
x-mitre-detection-strategy--acc27d20-8aad-42ce-b928-6cda3c22e51b
Analytics
5
Techniques Detected
1
By Tactic
Lateral Movement
1
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