splunk-security_content/stories/unusual_processes.yml

name: Unusual Processes
id: f4368e3f-d59f-4192-84f6-748ac5a3ddb6
version: 3
creation_date: '2019-10-16'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Bhavin Patel, Splunk
status: production
description: Quickly identify systems running new or unusual processes in your environment that could be indicators of suspicious activity. Processes run from unusual locations, those with conspicuously long command lines, and rare executables are all examples of activities that may warrant deeper investigation.
narrative: 'Being able to profile a host''s processes within your environment can help you more quickly identify processes that seem out of place when compared to the rest of the population of hosts or asset types.

    This Analytic Story lets you identify processes that are either a) not typically seen running or b) have some sort of suspicious command-line arguments associated with them. This Analytic Story will also help you identify the user running these processes and the associated process activity on the host.

    In the event an unusual process is identified, it is imperative to better understand how that process was able to execute on the host, when it first executed, and whether other hosts are affected. This extra information may provide clues that can help the analyst further investigate any suspicious activity.'
references:
    - https://web.archive.org/web/20210921093439/https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2017/08/monitoring-windows-console-activity-part-two.html
    - https://www.splunk.com/pdfs/technical-briefs/advanced-threat-detection-and-response-tech-brief.pdf
    - https://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/logging/detecting-security-incidents-windows-workstation-event-logs-34262
category:
    - Malware
product:
    - Splunk Enterprise
    - Splunk Enterprise Security
    - Splunk Cloud
usecase: Advanced Threat Detection