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ATT&CK techniqueStealth (formerly Defense Evasion)Discovery

T1497.003 Time Based Checks

Stealth (formerly Defense Evasion)DiscoveryEnterpriseSub-technique

As of 2026-10-05, T1497.003 (Time Based Checks) appears in 31 tracked threats, first reported 2026-02-20 and most recently 2026-09-30, with linked actors including APT28, Armored Likho, BlueDelta; it most often appears alongside T1071.001 (Web Protocols).

Tracked threats
312 critical, 23 high, 6 medium
First seen
2026-02-20
Last seen
2026-09-30
Threat actors
15In the threats using it
Detection rules
55Blue tier and above

Data as of:

Activity timeline

T1497.003 first appeared in tracked threats on and was most recently reported on . The busiest month was 2026-08 with 8 reports, and 31 of the 31 threats were reported in the twelve months to 2026-09.

How adversaries use it

T1497.003 Time Based Checks is catalogued by MITRE ATT&CK under the Stealth (formerly Defense Evasion) and Discovery tactics in the Enterprise matrix, as a sub-technique of T1497 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion. Threadlinqs maps 31 of 2623 tracked threats (1.2%) to it; by severity that is 2 critical, 23 high, 6 medium.

Threats that use T1497.003 most often also use T1071.001 Web Protocols (26 threats), T1082 System Information Discovery (23 threats), T1204.002 Malicious File (19 threats), T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information (18 threats), T1059.001 PowerShell (17 threats). These are the techniques an intrusion set tends to chain with it, so they are the natural next places to look when it is observed.

15 tracked threat actors appear in the threats that use T1497.003; the most frequent are APT28 (2), Armored Likho (2), BlueDelta (2), Forest Blizzard (2), Midnight Blizzard (2).

Data sources

Telemetry that can reveal T1497.003, per MITRE ATT&CK.

  • Command — Command Execution
  • Process — OS API Execution, Process Creation

Threat actors using it

Tracked threats

The 30 most recent of 31 tracked threats that use T1497.003.

Detection coverage

Threadlinqs maintains 55 detection rules mapped to T1497.003 (SPL 18, KQL 19, Sigma 18). Rule content is available to Blue tier accounts and above; this page shows counts only.

55 detection rules (SPL/KQL/Sigma) · Blue and above. Compare plans

Parent technique

T1497 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion — 282 tracked threats at the technique level.