Remote Management and Monitoring tool - RemoteUtilities - Network Connection

Hunt Hypothesis

The detection identifies potential adversary use of RemoteUtilities for establishing unauthorized network connections, which could indicate C2 communication or persistence. SOC teams should proactively hunt for this behavior in Azure Sentinel to detect and mitigate advanced persistent threats leveraging RMM tools.

KQL Query

let Time_start = now(-5d);
let Time_end = now();
//
DeviceNetworkEvents
| where Timestamp between (Time_start..Time_end)
| where RemoteUrl has 'remoteutilities.com'
    and InitiatingProcessVersionInfoCompanyName has 'Remote Utilities'
    and InitiatingProcessVersionInfoProductName has 'Remote Utilities'
| summarize FirstSeen=min(Timestamp), LastSeen=max(Timestamp), 
    Report=make_set(ReportId), Count=count() by DeviceId, DeviceName,
    RemoteUrl 

Analytic Rule Definition

id: 30c70f7f-8018-4c45-9cd3-13ef9bc41426
name: Remote Management and Monitoring tool - RemoteUtilities - Network Connection
description: |
    Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) programs are IT to manage remote endpoints. Attackers have begun to abuse these programs to persist or provide C2 channels.
    https://github.com/jischell-msft/RemoteManagementMonitoringTools
requiredDataConnectors:
- connectorId: MicrosoftThreatProtection
  dataTypes:
  - DeviceNetworkEvents
tactics: CommandAndControl
relevantTechniques: T1219
query: |
  let Time_start = now(-5d);
  let Time_end = now();
  //
  DeviceNetworkEvents
  | where Timestamp between (Time_start..Time_end)
  | where RemoteUrl has 'remoteutilities.com'
      and InitiatingProcessVersionInfoCompanyName has 'Remote Utilities'
      and InitiatingProcessVersionInfoProductName has 'Remote Utilities'
  | summarize FirstSeen=min(Timestamp), LastSeen=max(Timestamp), 
      Report=make_set(ReportId), Count=count() by DeviceId, DeviceName,
      RemoteUrl 

Required Data Sources

MITRE ATT&CK Context

• Tactic: CommandAndControl
• Technique: T1219 — T1219

References

• [Source Query](https://github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel/blob/main/Hunting Queries/Microsoft 365 Defender/RemoteManagementMonitoring/rmm_RemoteUtilities_netconn.yaml)

False Positive Guidance

• Scenario: A system administrator is using Remote Utilities to remotely manage a server during a scheduled maintenance window.
  Filter/Exclusion: process.name != "RemoteUtilities.exe" or process.parent.name != "RemoteUtilities.exe"

• Scenario: A Windows Update task is initiated via Remote Utilities to push updates to multiple endpoints in the environment.
  Filter/Exclusion: process.name != "wuauclt.exe" or process.parent.name != "RemoteUtilities.exe"

• Scenario: An IT admin is using Remote Utilities to monitor network traffic on a firewall device for troubleshooting purposes.
  Filter/Exclusion: process.name != "RemoteUtilities.exe" or process.parent.name != "FirewallMonitor.exe"

• Scenario: A scheduled job is configured to run Remote Utilities to collect system logs from remote endpoints for audit purposes.
  Filter/Exclusion: process.name != "RemoteUtilities.exe" or process.parent.name != "TaskScheduler.exe"

• Scenario: A third-party service (e.g., Microsoft Intune) is using Remote Utilities as part of its endpoint management integration to configure devices.
  Filter/Exclusion: process.name != "RemoteUtilities.exe" or process.parent.name != "IntuneService.exe"