Agent skill

Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows

by mukul975 in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills

Systematically hunts for adversary persistence mechanisms across Windows endpoints, covering registry Run/RunOnce keys, services, startup folders, scheduled tasks, and WMI event subscriptions.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedProductivity & Automation

Install Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows

skills CLI
$ npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows --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/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows .claude/skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows && 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
hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows
GitHub stars
34k
Token cost
~1.2k tokens
SKILL.md length
420 words
Files
8 (incl. scripts, references, assets)
Skills in repo
644
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Systematically hunts for adversary persistence mechanisms across Windows endpoints, covering registry Run/RunOnce keys, services, startup folders, scheduled tasks, and WMI event subscriptions.

  • Works in 7 steps: Enumerate Known Persistence Locations:… → Collect Endpoint Data: Use EDR, Sysmon,… → Baseline Legitimate Persistence: Compare… → …
  • Performing a broad persistence sweep during incident response
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use, Prerequisites, Workflow and Key Concepts, plus 3 more sections
  • Runs Python scripts from its folder

What it does

Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows is an agent skill from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills. Systematically hunts for adversary persistence mechanisms across Windows endpoints, covering registry Run/RunOnce keys, services, startup folders, scheduled tasks, and WMI event subscriptions. Use when performing a broad persistence sweep during incident response or building SIEM detections that cover the full range of Windows persistence techniques (MITRE T1547).

Its SKILL.md is about 1.2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 10 other files, including scripts, reference files and assets (for example `assets/template.md`, `references/api-reference.md` and `references/standards.md`).

It sits in Productivity & Automation, covering Scheduled and recurring tasks, Security operations and Incident response. 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

  • Performing a broad persistence sweep during incident response
  • Building SIEM detections that cover the full range of Windows persistence techniques (MITRE T1547)

Example prompts

  • “/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

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

  1. Enumerate Known Persistence Locations: Build a comprehensive list of Windows persistence points (Run keys, services, scheduled tasks, WMI…
  2. Collect Endpoint Data: Use EDR, Sysmon, or Velociraptor to collect current persistence artifacts from endpoints across the environment.
  3. Baseline Legitimate Persistence: Compare collected data against known-good baselines (Autoruns snapshots, GPO-deployed entries, SCCM…
  4. Identify Anomalies: Flag new, unsigned, or unknown entries in persistence locations that deviate from the baseline.
  5. Investigate Suspicious Entries: For each anomaly, examine the binary it points to, its digital signature, file hash, and creation timestamp.
  6. Correlate with Process Activity: Link persistence entries to process execution, network activity, and user login events.
  7. Document and Remediate: Record findings, remove malicious persistence, and update detection rules.

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 2 files 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

Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows loads about 1.2k tokens when it runs, and up to ~3.7k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 103 tokens; SKILL.md has 420 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~103
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.2k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~3.7k

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). 420 words, ~1,215 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 7 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows
description
Systematically hunts for adversary persistence mechanisms across Windows endpoints, covering registry Run/RunOnce keys, services, startup folders, scheduled tasks, and WMI event subscriptions. Use when performing a broad persistence sweep during incident response or building SIEM detections that cover the full range of Windows persistence techniques (MITRE T1547).
domain
cybersecurity
subdomain
threat-hunting
tags
threat-hunting, mitre-attack, persistence, windows, registry, siem, proactive-detection
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_csf
DE.CM-01, DE.AE-02, DE.AE-07, ID.RA-05
mitre_attack
T1046, T1057, T1082, T1083, T1547

Hunting for Persistence Mechanisms in Windows

When to Use

  • During periodic proactive threat hunts for dormant backdoors
  • After an incident to identify all persistence mechanisms an attacker planted
  • When investigating unusual services, scheduled tasks, or startup entries
  • When threat intel reports describe new persistence techniques in the wild
  • During security posture assessments to identify unauthorized persistent software

Prerequisites

  • Sysmon deployed with Event IDs 12/13/14 (Registry), 19/20/21 (WMI), 1 (Process Creation)
  • Windows Security Event forwarding for 4697 (Service Install), 4698 (Scheduled Task)
  • EDR with registry and file monitoring capabilities
  • PowerShell script block logging enabled (Event ID 4104)
  • Autoruns or equivalent baseline of legitimate persistent entries

Workflow

  1. Enumerate Known Persistence Locations: Build a comprehensive list of Windows persistence points (Run keys, services, scheduled tasks, WMI, startup folder, DLL search order, COM hijacks, AppInit DLLs, Image File Execution Options).
  2. Collect Endpoint Data: Use EDR, Sysmon, or Velociraptor to collect current persistence artifacts from endpoints across the environment.
  3. Baseline Legitimate Persistence: Compare collected data against known-good baselines (Autoruns snapshots, GPO-deployed entries, SCCM configurations).
  4. Identify Anomalies: Flag new, unsigned, or unknown entries in persistence locations that deviate from the baseline.
  5. Investigate Suspicious Entries: For each anomaly, examine the binary it points to, its digital signature, file hash, and creation timestamp.
  6. Correlate with Process Activity: Link persistence entries to process execution, network activity, and user login events.
  7. Document and Remediate: Record findings, remove malicious persistence, and update detection rules.
Show full SKILL.md (180 more words)Show less

Key Concepts

ConceptDescription
T1547.001Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
T1543.003Windows Service (Create or Modify)
T1053.005Scheduled Task
T1546.003WMI Event Subscription
T1546.015Component Object Model (COM) Hijacking
T1546.012Image File Execution Options Injection
T1546.010AppInit DLLs
T1547.004Winlogon Helper DLL
T1547.005Security Support Provider
T1574.001DLL Search Order Hijacking
TA0003Persistence Tactic
AutorunsSysinternals tool showing persistent entries

Tools & Systems

ToolPurpose
Sysinternals AutorunsComprehensive persistence enumeration
VelociraptorEndpoint-wide persistence artifact collection
CrowdStrike FalconReal-time persistence monitoring
SysmonRegistry and WMI event monitoring
OSQuerySQL-based persistence queries
RECmdRegistry Explorer for forensic analysis
SplunkSIEM correlation of persistence events

Common Scenarios

  1. Registry Run Key Backdoor: Malware adds HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run entry pointing to payload in %APPDATA%.
  2. WMI Event Subscription: Adversary creates WMI consumer/filter pair that executes PowerShell on system boot.
  3. Malicious Service: Attacker creates Windows service with sc create pointing to a backdoor binary.
  4. COM Object Hijack: Legitimate COM CLSID InprocServer32 path replaced with malicious DLL.
  5. IFEO Debugger Injection: Image File Execution Options key set with debugger pointing to implant for common utilities.

Output Format

Hunt ID: TH-PERSIST-[DATE]-[SEQ]
Persistence Type: [Registry/Service/Task/WMI/COM/Other]
MITRE Technique: T1547.xxx / T1543.xxx / T1053.xxx
Location: [Full registry key / service name / task path]
Value: [Binary path / command line]
Host(s): [Affected endpoints]
Signed: [Yes/No]
Hash: [SHA256]
Creation Time: [Timestamp]
Risk Level: [Critical/High/Medium/Low]
Verdict: [Malicious/Suspicious/Benign]

© 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 7 other files (scripts, references, assets) in skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows of mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • LICENSE
  • assets/template.md
  • references/api-reference.md
  • references/standards.md
  • references/workflows.md
  • scripts/agent.py
  • scripts/process.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 54a7988

Compare with similar skills

Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows 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.

Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows compared with similar skills
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Incident Triagebriiirussell/cybersecurity-skills413—~1.5kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
Soc Operationsbriiirussell/cybersecurity-skills413—~2.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Data Breach Responseborghei/Claude-Skills891—~4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Questions about Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows

What does Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows do?

Systematically hunts for adversary persistence mechanisms across Windows endpoints, covering registry Run/RunOnce keys, services, startup folders, scheduled tasks, and WMI event subscriptions. Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows is an agent skill from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills. Systematically hunts for adversary persistence mechanisms across Windows endpoints, covering registry Run/RunOnce keys, services, startup folders, scheduled tasks, and WMI event subscriptions.

When should I use Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows?

Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows fits situations like: performing a broad persistence sweep during incident response; building SIEM detections that cover the full range of Windows persistence techniques (MITRE T1547).

How do I install Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills) into .claude/skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows in Codex?

Run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills) into .agents/skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows 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 hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows, .gemini/skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows, .github/skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows and .opencode/skills/hunting-for-persistence-mechanisms-in-windows in your project.

What does Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows needs Python for the scripts in its folder. Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows 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 Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows 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 Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows use?

Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows 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 Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows use?

About 1.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.9k 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 2.5k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows: Co Tank Monitor (aipoch/medical-research-skills, 1.9k stars), Incident Response (alirezarezvani/claude-skills, 28k stars), Incident Triage (briiirussell/cybersecurity-skills, 413 stars) and Soc Operations (briiirussell/cybersecurity-skills, 413 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Hunting For Persistence Mechanisms In Windows?

mukul975 (a GitHub user) maintains it in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills, which has 34,116 GitHub stars. The repository holds 644 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.