Detect Data from Removable Media in IBM QRadar
Adversaries may search connected removable media on computers they have compromised to find files of interest. Sensitive data can be collected from any removable media (optical disk drive, USB memory, etc.) connected to the compromised system prior to exfiltration. Threat actors including APT28, Gamaredon Group, and OilRig have leveraged this technique. Malware families such as USBStealer, GravityRAT, Rover, Crimson, Crutch, and BADNEWS implement automated USB harvesting — copying files matching predefined extension lists (documents, credentials, archives) to staging directories for later exfiltration.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Collection
- Technique
- T1025 Data from Removable Media
- Canonical reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1025/
QRadar Detection Query
SELECT
DATEFORMAT(starttime, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') AS EventTime,
sourceip AS HostIP,
username AS UserName,
"filename" AS FileName,
"filepath" AS FilePath,
QIDNAME(qid) AS EventName,
logsourceid AS LogSourceID,
COUNT(*) AS EventCount,
COUNT(DISTINCT "filename") AS UniqueFiles
FROM events
WHERE
LOGSOURCETYPEID IN (12, 13, 253)
AND starttime > NOW() - 3600000
AND (
-- Sysmon EventID 11: FileCreate on removable drive
("EventID" = '11'
AND REGEXP_MATCHES(COALESCE("TargetFilename", ""), '(?i)^[D-Z]:\\\\')
AND REGEXP_MATCHES(LOWER(COALESCE("TargetFilename", "")), '\.(doc|docx|xls|xlsx|pdf|ppt|pptx|txt|csv|kdbx|pfx|pem|key|p12|zip|rar|7z|bak|sql|db|sqlite|conf|config|xml|json)$')
)
OR
-- Sysmon EventID 1: Process create with suspicious CLI referencing removable drive
("EventID" = '1'
AND REGEXP_MATCHES(LOWER(COALESCE("Image", "")), '(powershell|pwsh|cmd|wscript|cscript|mshta|rundll32|python|xcopy|robocopy|forfiles)')
AND REGEXP_MATCHES(COALESCE("CommandLine", ""), '(?i)[D-Z]:\\\\')
)
)
GROUP BY
DATEFORMAT(starttime, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss'),
sourceip,
username,
"filename",
"filepath",
QIDNAME(qid),
logsourceid
HAVING UniqueFiles >= 5
ORDER BY UniqueFiles DESC
LAST 1 HOURSQRadar AQL query detecting T1025 data collection from removable media. Targets Sysmon EventID 11 (FileCreate) for sensitive file extensions written to non-C drives, and EventID 1 (ProcessCreate) for suspicious processes with command lines referencing removable drive letters. Groups by host and user with a threshold of 5+ unique files to reduce noise.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Legitimate backup tools writing to external drives (e.g. Windows Backup, Acronis)
- Scripted IT processes using xcopy/robocopy for USB-based deployment
- End users running PowerShell scripts to export reports to USB
- Portable application launchers that run from USB drives
Other platforms for T1025
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 4 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Bulk File Collection from USB Drive via PowerShell Copy-Item
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create for powershell.exe with CommandLine containing 'Get-ChildItem', 'Copy-Item', and the fake USB path. Sysmon Event ID 11: File Create events for each copied file in the staging directory. DeviceFileEvents: multiple FileRead and FileCreated entries for the extension sweep. DeviceProcessEvents: PowerShell process with copy pipeline command line.
- Test 2Removable Media Enumeration via CMD dir and xcopy
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create for cmd.exe and xcopy.exe with command lines showing the target path. Sysmon Event ID 11: File Create events for each file copied to usb_collect. Security Event ID 4688 (with command line auditing enabled) for cmd.exe and xcopy.exe. DeviceFileEvents: xcopy.exe performing FileRead on source and FileCreated on destination.
- Test 3Credential File Targeted Collection from Removable Media
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: PowerShell process with Get-ChildItem filtering .kdbx/.pfx/.key extensions and Copy-Item to staging. Sysmon Event ID 11: File Create events for .kdbx, .pfx, id_rsa, .key in the staging directory. DeviceFileEvents: FileRead on credential-extension files. The credential-targeted hunting query will match immediately on file extensions.
- Test 4Robocopy Mirroring of Removable Media to Network Share
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create for robocopy.exe with source path, destination path, /E /COPYALL flags. Sysmon Event ID 11: File Create events for all mirrored files in staging directory. Sysmon Event ID 11: Log file creation (%TEMP%\robocopy_collection.log). DeviceFileEvents: robocopy.exe FileRead from source and FileCreated at destination.
References (10)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1025/
- https://www.welivesecurity.com/2014/11/21/win32-usbstealer-usb-based-espionage-tool/
- https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/kaspersky-security-bulletin-2014-apt-predictions/7105/
- https://www.welivesecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ESET_InvisiMole.pdf
- https://research.checkpoint.com/2020/naikon-apt-cyber-espionage-reborn/
- https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit-42-technical-analysis-shamoon-2/
- https://blog.talosintelligence.com/gravityrat-two-years-of-evolution/
- https://www.welivesecurity.com/2020/12/02/turla-crutch-keeping-back-door-open/
- https://securelist.com/project-sauron-remsec/75533/
- https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/17/l/patchwork-continues-deliver-badnews-indian-subcontinent.html
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