PowerShell Security

PowerShell is a built-in Windows tool widely used for IT automation, but it has also become a primary attack vector for cybercriminals. Attackers exploit it across the full attack lifecycle: initial payload delivery, privilege escalation, lateral movement, persistence, evasion, and data exfiltration. Real-world examples include SolarWinds, NotPetya, and Emotet campaigns. Key security challenges include insecure legacy versions, overly permissive default configurations, log tampering, and zero-day vulnerabilities. Best practices to mitigate risk include enabling constrained language mode, script execution policies, application control logging, and PowerShell module/script block logging. The post concludes with a promotion of Arctic Wolf's Aurora Endpoint Defense product.