Turla STOCKSTAY Persistence via Registry Run Key or MSI Installation

Ethan Andrews@eandrews

•updated Jun 25, 2026•0•0•1

This rule detects persistence mechanisms associated with the Turla STOCKSTAY backdoor. It monitors for the creation or modification of Registry Run keys, the execution of msiexec for suspicious MSI package installations (DiplomacyEduAI.msi, Copia.msi), and the presence of known STOCKSTAY component executables (e.g., MicrosoftUpdateOneDrive.exe, SMEditor.exe) in the %LOCALAPPDATA%/Programs/SMN/ directory.