Prochack

Overview

HackTool:Win32/Prochack (or generic **Process Hacker** heuristics) refers to detections associated with powerful system administration and memory manipulation tools (most notably the open-source utility 'Process Hacker', now known as 'System Informer'). While these are legitimate, highly useful tools for IT professionals to monitor and debug Windows systems, they are frequently flagged by security vendors because threat actors heavily abuse them to forcefully terminate EDR solutions, dump credentials, and manipulate system memory during an attack.

Understanding Prochack Abuse
To an end-user, this tool is invisible unless they explicitly launched it. For a security analyst, the unapproved presence of a tool like Process Hacker on a corporate endpoint is a massive red flag. Because the tool installs a legitimate kernel-level driver (`KProcessHacker.sys`), it operates with higher privileges than the operating system itself, allowing an attacker to bypass standard Windows security boundaries and manipulate critical processes that are normally protected.

Execution and Legitimate Tool Abuse
Threat actors drop Prochack/Process Hacker during the post-exploitation phase (`T1105`). Because the executable and its associated kernel driver are digitally signed (often by a legitimate open-source certificate), it easily bypasses initial static analysis (`T1553.002`). The attacker uses the tool's GUI or command-line interface to perform highly destructive actions (`T1204.002`). The most common abuse is the forceful termination of Antivirus and EDR sensors (`T1562.001`), utilizing the kernel driver to bypass tamper protection. Attackers also use the tool to dump the memory of the `lsass.exe` process (`T1003.001`) to extract plaintext passwords and NTLM hashes, mimicking the behavior of Mimikatz without needing to drop the actual Mimikatz binary.

Indicators of Compromise & Impact
The impact is the complete subversion of endpoint security controls and the theft of privileged credentials. The primary IoC is the execution of known Process Hacker binaries (`ProcessHacker.exe`, `SystemInformer.exe`) from unusual directories (like `%Temp%`), or the installation of the `KProcessHacker.sys` kernel driver. EDR logs will flag anomalous attempts to read the memory of `lsass.exe` or forceful attempts to suspend/kill security-related services.

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

Observed techniques used by this family, mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework:

Tactical Mitigations

Based on the techniques used by this family, consider the following defensive strategies:

• T1003.001: Monitor for LSASS memory dumping or registry SAM extraction. Enable Credential Guard on Windows systems.

Generated Detections (Boilerplate)

These YARA and Sigma rules are auto-generated based on the family name and aliases. They must be heavily tuned before deployment in a production environment.

YARA Rule

rule MALWARE_WIN_PROCHACK {
    meta:
        description = "Detects Prochack (advanced_threat)"
        author = "SystemHelpdesk Boilerplate Generator"
        date = "2026-07-06"
    strings:
        $s1 = "prochack" ascii wide nocase
    condition:
        uint16(0) == 0x5a4d and any of them
}

Sigma Rule

title: Suspicious Prochack Activity
id: 55a056925140ef94b9b2cc7c962c94b9
status: experimental
description: Detects generic indicators of the prochack malware family.
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith:
            - '\cmd.exe'
            - '\powershell.exe'
        CommandLine|contains:
            - "*prochack*"
    condition: selection
level: medium

Containment & Response Steps

Ordered checklist for responders. Adapt to your environment and engage professional support for active incidents.

1. Instantly isolate the endpoint; the presence of Process Hacker indicates an attacker has already achieved interactive, administrative access to the machine.
2. Assume the local EDR agent has been compromised or blinded by the tool's kernel driver.
3. Enforce a mandatory password reset for all accounts that have logged into the machine, as the attacker likely used the tool to dump LSASS memory.
4. Perform a deep forensic review to identify the initial entry vector that allowed the attacker to drop and execute the tool.

What to Avoid

Common mistakes during response to this family that can destroy evidence, spread the infection, or worsen recovery.

1. Do not dismiss the alert as a 'false positive' simply because Process Hacker is a known, legitimate tool; if IT did not explicitly authorize its use, it is a severe breach.
2. Avoid relying solely on the local EDR for containment; isolate the machine at the network level.

References & External Analysis

• Search "prochack" on VirusTotal (External Analysis)

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Families (Category: advanced_threat)

Explore other malware families in the same category:

• Google
• Pcoptimizerpro
• Clickmein
• Slenfbot
• Carambisdu

Machine-readable

Get this profile as JSON: https://jordanricky1604-ship-it.github.io/malware-families-catalog/api/prochack.json

Ecosystem & Interactive Environments

This profile is part of the Malware Families Catalog, a public dataset of 2,899 malware families. The catalog is also published across our ecosystem: Hugging Face, Kaggle, Zenodo, Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox, and CodePen.