Modern intrusions unfold as a chain of actions. Default Windows logging rarely provides enough fidelity to reconstruct this chain with confidence. Sysmon (System Monitor) fills this gap by producing rich, high-signal telemetry that maps directly to attacker techniques.
STRATEGIC SENSOR DEPLOYMENT
When properly operationalised in a SOC, Sysmon transforms endpoint logs into actionable evidence for detection engineering and incident response, providing visibility into initial execution, privilege escalation, and lateral movement.
02. Execution & Initial Access
EVENT_ID_1: PROCESS_CREATE
The primary starting point for investigations. Logs every new process execution and command-line arguments, enabling analysts to build precise timelines and identify LOLBins abuse.
EVENT_ID_7: IMAGE_LOAD
Captures DLL loading activity. Essential for detecting DLL hijacking and injection where attackers execute payloads within the context of trusted processes.
EVENT_ID_3: NETWORK_CONNECT
Correlates network connections with specific processes, answering the critical question: "Which process initiated this connection to this IP or domain?"
03. Lateral Movement & Priv Esc
EVENT_ID_8: REMOTE_THREAD
Detects memory-injection techniques used by post-exploitation frameworks like Cobalt Strike and Meterpreter.
EVENT_ID_10: PROCESS_ACCESS
Monitors access to sensitive processes like lsass.exe, flagging potential credential theft attempts via Mimikatz.
04. Persistence & Registry
Tracking this trio allows SOC teams to detect unauthorized configuration changes indicating persistence via Run keys or service tampering.
05. Summary Matrix
| EID | CATEGORY | DETECTION_VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Execution | Process creation; baseline for attack timelines. |
| 3 | Network | Outbound connections with process context. |
| 8 | Lateral | Remote thread injection; Cobalt Strike detection. |
| 22 | Discovery | DNS queries for suspicious or DGA domains. |
