gpt-4.1-nano vs o3-mini-low KQL Benchmark

An analyst notices a PowerShell process on a Windows host that appears to be checking SMB connectivity. Which PowerShell cmdlet was executed to perform this outbound port 445 test?

On a Windows system, someone ran PowerShell to copy a file from a remote machine’s C$ share to the local TEMP folder. Using process event logs, what full PowerShell command was executed to perform this action?

On a Linux system, review process execution records for any shell process that set an environment variable containing executable code and then piped it into another shell instance. Determine which environment variable name was used to store the script content.

On a Windows host, suspicious PowerShell activity adjusted the system clock and recorded a value. What numeric value was used to slip the system date?

Evidence shows that the Windows Defender startup entry was tampered with via an elevated command prompt. Investigate registry events related to the Run key to discover which executable replaced the default SecurityHealth value. What is the name of the new program?

An attacker is suspected of using the Windows shell to enumerate a user’s Internet Explorer bookmarks via the Favorites folder. Identify the exact command they executed to perform this listing.

Investigate Windows file creation logs to uncover any new executable added directly to the System32 directory, which may indicate a UEFI persistence implant. What was the name of the file created?

A Windows host shows a suspicious registry change under the LSA hive. Review recent registry events to locate any new entries under Authentication Packages and determine the name of the DLL the attacker added.

A Windows host shows a process launching with install-driver switches, likely signaling malicious driver deployment. What is the name of the tool that was executed?

On Windows systems, identify any user account that was hidden by setting its value to 0 under the SpecialAccounts\\UserList registry key. What was the name of the hidden account?

On a Windows device, an attacker ran a PowerShell script to collect system settings including UI language and locale. Identify which cmdlet in the command line was used to obtain the system locale.

You notice rundll32.exe being used with desk.cpl,InstallScreenSaver on a Windows endpoint. Investigate your process creation logs to find which .scr file was loaded by this unusual invocation.

In a Linux environment, an elevated process was used to execute a command that read /etc/shadow and redirected its output to a file. Identify what file name was employed to store these results.

On a Linux host, a ping command was executed to test internet connectivity. Determine which IP address was used as the ping target.

A Linux host’s Syslog shows a shell-based network discovery script ran multiple commands. One of them listed current TCP connections. Which utility was invoked?

On a Windows host, someone appears to have run a built-in network shell utility to list saved wireless network profiles and their passwords in clear text. Review the process creation logs to discover the exact command that was executed.

A Windows host shows a process launch with an extremely obfuscated command line that dynamically builds and invokes code at runtime. Which process name was used to execute this payload?

On a Windows endpoint, look for evidence of a base64-encoded PowerShell payload execution. Which executable launched the encoded command?

On a Linux system, identify the script that was generated by decoding a base64 data file and then executed. What was the filename of that script?

In a Linux environment, you observe a process labeled like the cron daemon but running from an unexpected path. Investigate creation events to uncover the actual filename used by this fake cron process.

Analyze Windows process events for any schtasks.exe commands that created a new task invoking PowerShell. What is the name of the .ps1 script specified to run?

Linux hosts may log events when new files are added to /var/spool/cron/crontabs. Query those logs for a creation or write action in that directory and determine the file name that was added.

You suspect malicious persistence via scheduled tasks on a Windows endpoint. Review the process execution logs to identify the built-in utility used to register tasks at logon or startup. What is the name of this utility?

A malicious actor may attempt to list running processes on a Windows machine using a WMI-based command. Review the process creation events to find out which utility was invoked to perform this enumeration.

An analyst suspects that a restricted shell escape was executed using a common Perl package manager on Linux. Review the process execution records to determine which tool was invoked to spawn the shell.