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Detects tool from EQGRP toolset - file installdate.pl

yara LOW Yara-Rules
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This rule was pulled from an open-source repository and enriched with AI. Validate in a test environment before deploying to production.
View original rule at Yara-Rules →
Retrieved: 2026-05-21T23:00:01Z · Confidence: medium

Hunt Hypothesis

The installdate.pl script is likely used by EQGRP to gather system information and establish persistence, indicating potential adversary presence. SOC teams should proactively hunt for this behavior in Azure Sentinel to identify and mitigate early-stage compromise by EQGRP adversaries.

YARA Rule

rule EQGRP_installdate 
{

    meta:
        description = "Detects tool from EQGRP toolset - file installdate.pl"
        author = "Florian Roth"
        reference = "Research"
        date = "2016-08-15"

    strings:
        $x1 = "#Provide hex or EP log as command-line argument or as input" fullword ascii
        $x2 = "print \"Gimme hex: \";" fullword ascii
        $x3 = "if ($line =~ /Reg_Dword:  (\\d\\d:\\d\\d:\\d\\d.\\d+ \\d+ - )?(\\S*)/) {" fullword ascii
        $s1 = "if ($_ =~ /InstallDate/) {" fullword ascii
        $s2 = "if (not($cmdInput)) {" fullword ascii
        $s3 = "print \"$hex in decimal=$dec\\n\\n\";" fullword ascii

    condition:
        filesize < 2KB and ( 1 of ($x*) or 3 of them )
}

Deployment Notes

This YARA rule can be deployed in the following contexts:

This rule contains 8 string patterns in its detection logic.

References

False Positive Guidance

Original source: https://github.com/Yara-Rules/rules/blob/main/malware/APT_EQUATIONGRP.yar