Windows Log Hunter
Defensive threat hunting over Windows Event Logs from the command line. Detects suspicious authentication, account, persistence, and execution activity, then produces a severity-ranked report for triage.
Language rule: All skill instructions use English. Final summary presented to the user must be in Vietnamese.
0. Authorization & Routing
Operates under MASTER_POLICY.md §1-§2.
Scope gate. Hunt only on systems you own or are authorized to monitor (your host, your org's endpoints, an IR engagement, or a lab). This is a read-only defensive skill — it inspects logs, it does not modify the system.
| Sibling skill | When |
|---|---|
| network-scanner | Map attack surface / exposed services |
| network-interceptor | Inspect suspicious network traffic |
| container-cloud-auditor | Audit exposed container/cloud config |
Engines
| Engine | Needs | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| native (default) | PowerShell only — no install | Live triage of the current machine |
| hayabusa | Hayabusa exe in PATH | Deep Sigma-rule timeline over .evtx files |
Run PowerShell as Administrator so the Security log is readable; otherwise those categories are skipped with a collection note.
Step 0 — Check environment
powershellpython windows-log-hunter\scripts\hunt_eventlog.py --check
Reports PowerShell, optional Hayabusa, and whether you have admin rights.
Step 1 — Native hunt (no external tools)
Sweep the last 24 hours of high-signal events on the current host:
powershellpython windows-log-hunter\scripts\hunt_eventlog.py --hours 24 --out output\hunt
Adjust window / volume:
powershellpython windows-log-hunter\scripts\hunt_eventlog.py --hours 72 --max 500 --out output\hunt
What it collects (via Get-WinEvent):
| Area | Event IDs |
|---|---|
| Authentication | 4625 failed logon, 4624 logon, 4672 special privileges |
| Accounts | 4720 created, 4726 deleted, 4732/4728 added to group |
| Persistence | 7045 new service, 4698 scheduled task, 7030 |
| Defense evasion | 1102 audit log cleared |
| Execution | 4688 new process, 4104 PowerShell script block |
| Sysmon (if installed) | 1 process, 3 network, 11 file create |
Step 2 — Hayabusa timeline (optional, deeper)
If Hayabusa is installed, run Sigma detections over the live log folder or a collected evtx set:
powershellpython windows-log-hunter\scripts\hunt_eventlog.py --engine hayabusa --logdir C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs --out output\hunt
Install Hayabusa: download the single-file release from https://github.com/Yamato-Security/hayabusa and put it in PATH.
Step 3 — Read the report
Both engines write to --out:
FINDINGS.md— signals grouped by severity (critical→info), counts by category, and triage guidance.findings.json— structured events for correlation / downstream skills.
Re-parse raw output without re-scanning:
powershellpython windows-log-hunter\scripts\parse_findings.py output\hunt\events.json --kind native --out output\hunt
Triage priorities
- 1102 (audit log cleared) and spikes of 4625 (failed logons) — possible intrusion / brute force.
- 4720 / 4732 / 4728 — new account or privilege escalation; confirm it was authorized.
- 7045 / 4698 — new service / scheduled task; classic persistence.
- Correlate suspicious 4104 PowerShell and 4688 process events against the timestamps above.
All output is for defensive response: containment, account review, persistence removal, and detection tuning.
