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Upgrade to ProDetect Data Exfiltration via ICMP Covert Channel in IBM QRadar
Tools such as icmpsh, ptunnel, icmptunnel, Nishang's Invoke-PowerShellIcmp, and Cobalt Strike's ICMP beacon exfiltrate collected data by embedding it in the payload of ICMP Echo Request (Type 8) packets and relying on an adversary-controlled listener to reassemble it from Echo Reply traffic. ICMP is exceptionally effective as an exfiltration channel because it is a network-layer control protocol that most firewalls and proxies pass without content inspection or logging, and it requires no application-layer handshake, DNS resolution, or TLS certificate that could be fingerprinted. PLATINUM has been documented using ICMP as a communication and file-transfer channel specifically because it evades traditional network intrusion detection that focuses on TCP/UDP application traffic. Critically, this technique also evades most process-centric EDR network telemetry: Sysmon's Network Connection event (Event ID 3) and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's DeviceNetworkEvents only monitor TCP/UDP socket activity and do not record raw ICMP traffic at all, so detection here requires visibility from genuinely ICMP-capable network-layer sensors — NGFW/firewall session logs, Zeek/Bro network-tap conn.log, or flow collectors (NetFlow/IPFIX/QFlow). This differs from the generic T1041 base record (which centers on HTTP/DNS beaconing patterns) in that ICMP tunnels are identifiable by a distinct network-layer fingerprint: abnormal session/packet volume to a single destination, oversized payload-per-session inconsistent with diagnostic ping, and sustained session duration outside of standard troubleshooting use.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Exfiltration
QRadar Detection Query
SELECT
sourceip AS SourceIP,
destinationip AS DestinationIP,
COUNT(*) AS SessionCount,
SUM(sourcepackets + destinationpackets) AS TotalPackets,
SUM(sourcebytes + destinationbytes) AS TotalBytes,
MIN(firstpackettime) AS FirstSeen,
MAX(lastpackettime) AS LastSeen
FROM flows
WHERE
protocolid = 1 -- ICMP
AND firstpackettime > (NOW() - 86400000)
GROUP BY sourceip, destinationip
HAVING
SUM(sourcepackets + destinationpackets) >= 500
AND (SUM(sourcebytes + destinationbytes) / SUM(sourcepackets + destinationpackets)) >= 100
ORDER BY TotalPackets DESCQRadar AQL query against the flows table (QFlow/NetFlow-derived flow data, not the endpoint-sourced events table), which genuinely records ICMP traffic with packet and byte counters via protocolid=1. Flags source/destination pairs with sustained high packet volume and average payload size exceeding standard diagnostic ping sizes — the flow-based equivalent of the kql/spl scoring model. Endpoint DSMs (Windows Sysmon) are deliberately not used here since they do not capture ICMP.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Authorized network monitoring appliances performing sustained ICMP availability checks
- IoT devices, industrial control systems, and OT network equipment using proprietary ICMP-based keepalive/heartbeat mechanisms
- Network management agents using ICMP-based circuit testing from monitoring subnets
Other platforms for THREAT-ICMP-C2Exfiltration
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 2 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 1Simulated ICMP Tunneling via Oversized Ping Payload Burst
Expected signal: CommonSecurityLog (or Zeek conn.log): ~60 permitted ICMP session records between the test host's source IP and 198.51.100.10, each with SentBytes/orig_ip_bytes reflecting the 128-byte payload (well above the 56-byte default), spanning roughly 12 seconds. Sysmon/MDE will NOT show this traffic — that is expected and confirms the endpoint-blind-spot this detection is designed to cover.
- Test 2Sustained Single-Destination ICMP Session Simulation
Expected signal: CommonSecurityLog (or Zeek conn.log): 400 permitted ICMP session records from the test host to 198.51.100.10 spanning approximately 3-4 minutes, with SessionCount and DurationMinutes both elevated relative to normal diagnostic traffic patterns.
References (8)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1041/
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1095/
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2017/04/24/platinum-continues-to-evolve-find-ways-to-maintain-invisibility/
- https://github.com/inquisb/icmpsh
- https://github.com/utoni/ptunnel-ng
- https://github.com/samratashok/nishang
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/tree/master/rules/network
- https://docs.zeek.org/en/current/scripts/base/protocols/conn/main.zeek.html
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