Agent skill

Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts

by mukul975 in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills

Detect PowerShell Empire post-exploitation framework artifacts in Windows Script Block Logging (Event ID 4104) and Module Logging (Event ID 4103), including the default launcher string…

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedSecurity

Install Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts

skills CLI
$ npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts .claude/skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts
GitHub stars
34k
Token cost
~719 tokens
SKILL.md length
222 words
Files
4 (incl. scripts, references)
Skills in repo
637
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Detect PowerShell Empire post-exploitation framework artifacts in Windows Script Block Logging (Event ID 4104) and Module Logging (Event ID 4103), including the default launcher string…

  • Works in 5 steps: Default launcher — powershell -noP -sta… → Stager indicators —… → Module signatures — Invoke-Mimikatz,… → …
  • Confirming Empire C2 activity in Windows event logs
  • SKILL.md covers Overview, When to Use, Prerequisites and Key Detection Patterns, plus 1 more section
  • Runs Python scripts from its folder

What it does

Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts is an agent skill from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills. Detect PowerShell Empire post-exploitation framework artifacts in Windows Script Block Logging (Event ID 4104) and Module Logging (Event ID 4103), including the default launcher string, Base64-encoded WebClient/FromBase64String payloads, known module invocations (Invoke-Mimikatz, Invoke-Kerberoast), and staging URL patterns. Use when hunting for or confirming Empire C2 activity in Windows event logs.

Its SKILL.md is about 720 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 5 other files, including scripts and reference files (for example `references/api-reference.md` and `scripts/agent.py`).

It sits in Security, covering Red teaming and adversary simulation. It works with PowerShell. The repository describes itself as: 817 structured cybersecurity skills for AI agents · Mapped to 6 frameworks: MITRE ATT&CK, NIST CSF 2.0, MITRE ATLAS, D3FEND, NIST AI RMF & MITRE F3 (Fight Fraud) · agentskills.io…. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Confirming Empire C2 activity in Windows event logs
  • Tasks that involve Red teaming and adversary simulation

Example prompts

  • “/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Default launcher — powershell -noP -sta -w 1 -enc followed by Base64 blob
  2. Stager indicators — System.Net.WebClient, DownloadData, DownloadString, FromBase64String
  3. Module signatures — Invoke-Mimikatz, Invoke-Kerberoast, Invoke-TokenManipulation, Invoke-PSInject, Invoke-DCOM
  4. User agent strings — default Empire user agents in HTTP listener configuration
  5. Staging URLs — /login/process.php, /admin/get.php and similar default URI patterns

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 54a7988. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 1 file in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts loads about 719 tokens when it runs, and up to ~1.6k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 110 tokens; SKILL.md has 222 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~110
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~719
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~1.6k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills at commit 54a7988, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© mukul975). 222 words, ~719 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 3 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts
description
Detect PowerShell Empire post-exploitation framework artifacts in Windows Script Block Logging (Event ID 4104) and Module Logging (Event ID 4103), including the default launcher string, Base64-encoded WebClient/FromBase64String payloads, known module invocations (Invoke-Mimikatz, Invoke-Kerberoast), and staging URL patterns. Use when hunting for or confirming Empire C2 activity in Windows event logs.
domain
cybersecurity
subdomain
threat-hunting
tags
PowerShell-Empire, threat-hunting, Script-Block-Logging, base64, stager, C2, MITRE-ATT&CK, T1059.001, forensics
version
1.0
author
mahipal
license
Apache-2.0
d3fend_techniques
Executable Denylisting, Execution Isolation, File Metadata Consistency Validation, Content Format Conversion, File Content Analysis
nist_ai_rmf
GOVERN-1.1, MEASURE-2.7, MANAGE-3.1
nist_csf
DE.CM-01, DE.AE-02, DE.AE-07, ID.RA-05
mitre_attack
T1059.001, T1071.001, T1003.001, T1558.003, T1027.010

Analyzing PowerShell Empire Artifacts

Overview

PowerShell Empire is a post-exploitation framework consisting of listeners, stagers, and agents. Its artifacts leave detectable traces in Windows event logs, particularly PowerShell Script Block Logging (Event ID 4104) and Module Logging (Event ID 4103). This skill analyzes event logs for Empire's default launcher string (powershell -noP -sta -w 1 -enc), Base64 encoded payloads containing System.Net.WebClient and FromBase64String, known module invocations (Invoke-Mimikatz, Invoke-Kerberoast, Invoke-TokenManipulation), and staging URL patterns.

When to Use

  • When investigating security incidents that require analyzing powershell empire artifacts
  • When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
  • When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
  • When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.9+ with access to Windows Event Log or exported EVTX files
  • PowerShell Script Block Logging (Event ID 4104) enabled via Group Policy
  • Module Logging (Event ID 4103) enabled for comprehensive coverage

Key Detection Patterns

  1. Default launcher — powershell -noP -sta -w 1 -enc followed by Base64 blob
  2. Stager indicators — System.Net.WebClient, DownloadData, DownloadString, FromBase64String
  3. Module signatures — Invoke-Mimikatz, Invoke-Kerberoast, Invoke-TokenManipulation, Invoke-PSInject, Invoke-DCOM
  4. User agent strings — default Empire user agents in HTTP listener configuration
  5. Staging URLs — /login/process.php, /admin/get.php and similar default URI patterns

Output

JSON report with matched IOCs, decoded Base64 payloads, timeline of suspicious events, MITRE ATT&CK technique mappings, and severity scores.

© mukul975, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 3 other files (scripts, references) in skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts of mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • LICENSE
  • references/api-reference.md
  • scripts/agent.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 54a7988

Compare with similar skills

Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts this skillmukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills34k—~719Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Windows Serversickn33/agentic-awesome-skills47k2 repos~2.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Windows Av Evasionyaklang/hack-skills2.4k—~2.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Investigating Windows Endpointstrilwu/secskills156—~4.7kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Ctf Malwareljagiello/ctf-skills3.4k1 repos~2.1kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
Hf Cloud Sagemaker Iam Preflightwaybarrios/opencode-power-pack533—~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0

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Works with

Categories

Questions about Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts

What does Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts do?

Detect PowerShell Empire post-exploitation framework artifacts in Windows Script Block Logging (Event ID 4104) and Module Logging (Event ID 4103), including the default launcher string…. Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts is an agent skill from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills. Detect PowerShell Empire post-exploitation framework artifacts in Windows Script Block Logging (Event ID 4104) and Module Logging (Event ID 4103), including the default launcher string, Base64-encoded WebClient/FromBase64String payloads, known module invocations (Invoke-Mimikatz, Invoke-Kerberoast), and staging URL patterns.

When should I use Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts?

Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts fits situations like: confirming Empire C2 activity in Windows event logs; tasks that involve Red teaming and adversary simulation.

How do I install Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills) into .claude/skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts in Codex?

Run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills) into .agents/skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts, .gemini/skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts, .github/skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts and .opencode/skills/analyzing-powershell-empire-artifacts in your project.

What does Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts needs Python for the scripts in its folder. Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts use?

Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts use?

About 719 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 849 tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts: Windows Server (sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, 47k stars), Windows Av Evasion (yaklang/hack-skills, 2.4k stars), Investigating Windows Endpoints (trilwu/secskills, 156 stars) and Ctf Malware (ljagiello/ctf-skills, 3.4k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Analyzing Powershell Empire Artifacts?

mukul975 (a GitHub user) maintains it in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills, which has 33,922 GitHub stars. The repository holds 637 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 31, 2026.

Source: mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.