# T1564 - Hide Artifacts

## SOC Recommendation
Investigate Hide Artifacts activity in the context of Stealth: confirm scope, affected host/identity, and whether it matches expected administrative behaviour before deciding this is benign.

## D3FEND Mappings
| D3FEND Technique | Relationship | Practical SOC Action |
|---|---|---|
| File Analysis | Detect | Monitor for File Analysis indicators relevant to this technique. |
| File Encryption | Harden | Apply File Encryption to reduce this technique's viability before an incident occurs. |
| File Eviction | Evict | Use File Eviction to remove the adversary's foothold once this technique is confirmed. |
| File Format Verification | Isolate | Apply File Format Verification to contain the blast radius once this technique is observed. |

## Investigation Steps
1. Review Defender for Endpoint / Defender XDR alerts and timeline for the affected host or identity.
2. Check Sentinel analytics rules and incidents correlated with this technique.
3. Review Entra ID sign-in and audit logs if the technique involves an identity or cloud resource.

## Evidence to Collect
- Host or resource affected
- Account or identity involved
- Timestamp of the activity
- Related process, file, or network artifact
- Any preceding or follow-on alerts

## Response Actions
| Action | Risk | Automation Safe | Approval Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contain the affected host or account | Medium | No | Yes |
| Collect and preserve evidence | Low | Yes | No |

## KQL
```kql
let query_frequency = 15m;
let missing_period = 1h;
//Enter a reference list of hostnames for your DC servers
let DCServersList = dynamic (["DC01.simulandlabs.com","DC02.simulandlabs.com"]);
//Alternatively, a Watchlist can be used
//let DCServersList = _GetWatchlist('HostName-DomainControllers') | project HostName;
Heartbeat
| summarize arg_max(TimeGenerated, *) by Computer
| where Computer in (DCServersList)
//You may specify the OS type of your Domain Controllers
//| where OSType == 'Windows'
| where TimeGenerated between (ago(query_frequency + missing_period) .. ago(missing_period))
| project TimeGenerated, Computer, OSType, Version, ComputerEnvironment, Type, Solutions
| sort by TimeGenerated asc
```
```kql
let procList = dynamic(["cmd.exe","ftp.exe","schtasks.exe","powershell.exe","rundll32.exe","regsvr32.exe","msiexec.exe"]);  
imProcessCreate
| where CommandLine has "recycler"
| where Process has_any (procList)
| extend FileName = tostring(split(Process, '\\')[-1])
| where FileName in~ (procList)
| project TimeGenerated, Dvc, User, Process, FileName, CommandLine, ActingProcessName, EventVendor, EventProduct
| extend AccountName = tostring(split(User, @'\')[1]), AccountNTDomain = tostring(split(User, @'\')[0])
| extend HostName = tostring(split(Dvc, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(Dvc, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(Dvc, DomainIndex + 1), Dvc)
| project-away DomainIndex
```
```kql
SecurityEvent
| where EventID == 4720 and TargetUserName endswith "$"
| summarize StartTime = min(TimeGenerated), EndTime = max(TimeGenerated) by Computer, SubjectUserName, SubjectDomainName, SubjectAccount, SubjectUserSid, SubjectLogonId, 
TargetUserName, TargetDomainName, TargetAccount, TargetSid, UserPrincipalName
| extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(Computer, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(Computer, DomainIndex + 1), Computer)
| project-away DomainIndex
```

## Escalation Criteria
- Hide Artifacts activity observed on a privileged account or critical system.
- Activity follows or precedes other suspicious behaviour in the same investigation.
- Automated triage cannot confidently rule out malicious intent.

## False Positive Considerations
- Legitimate administrative or maintenance activity matching this pattern.
- Approved security testing or red team exercise.
- Known benign software producing similar telemetry.

Generated by SOC Response Atlas by Basyrix.