SpyEye X.Y memory

Hunt Hypothesis

The detection identifies potential SpyEye malware leveraging memory-based execution techniques to evade traditional detection mechanisms. SOC teams should proactively hunt for this behavior in Azure Sentinel to identify and mitigate early-stage adversary activity that may bypass standard endpoint protections.

YARA Rule

rule spyeye : banker
{
	meta:
		author = "Jean-Philippe Teissier / @Jipe_"
		description = "SpyEye X.Y memory"
		date = "2012-05-23" 
		version = "1.0" 
		filetype = "memory"

	strings:
		$spyeye = "SpyEye"
		$a = "%BOTNAME%"
		$b = "globplugins"
		$c = "data_inject"
		$d = "data_before"
		$e = "data_after"
		$f = "data_end"
		$g = "bot_version"
		$h = "bot_guid"
		$i = "TakeBotGuid"
		$j = "TakeGateToCollector"
		$k = "[ERROR] : Omfg! Process is still active? Lets kill that mazafaka!"
		$l = "[ERROR] : Update is not successfull for some reason"
		$m = "[ERROR] : dwErr == %u"
		$n = "GRABBED DATA"
		
	condition:
		$spyeye or (any of ($a,$b,$c,$d,$e,$f,$g,$h,$i,$j,$k,$l,$m,$n))
}

Deployment Notes

This YARA rule can be deployed in the following contexts:

• Microsoft Defender for Endpoint — Custom indicators / advanced hunting
• Email Gateway — Attachment scanning
• File Share Monitoring — Periodic scanning of shared drives
• YARA CLI — Manual threat hunting on endpoints

This rule contains 15 string patterns in its detection logic.

• Source Rule

False Positive Guidance

• Scenario: System update or patch deployment using Microsoft Update or WSUS
  Filter/Exclusion: Check for process.name containing “wusa.exe” or “wuauclt.exe” and filter out processes associated with known update mechanisms.

• Scenario: Scheduled backup job using Veeam Backup & Replication
  Filter/Exclusion: Exclude processes with process.name containing “veeam” or “backup” and check for known backup job execution patterns.

• Scenario: Administrative task using PowerShell to manage system configuration
  Filter/Exclusion: Filter out PowerShell scripts executed by Local System or Administrators group, and check for known administrative cmdlets like Get-ChildItem or Set-ItemProperty.

• Scenario: Memory analysis using Volatility Framework for incident response
  Filter/Exclusion: Exclude processes with process.name containing “volatility” or “vol.py” and verify if the process is initiated by a known incident response tool.

• Scenario: Automated log analysis using ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana)
  Filter/Exclusion: Filter out processes with process.name containing “logstash” or “elasticsearch” and check for known log processing activities.