{
  "family": "arkeistealer",
  "sample_count": 1,
  "category": "infostealer",
  "description": "Arkeistealer (classified in antivirus detection telemetry under designations including PWS:Win32/Arkeistealer, PWS.Win32.Arkeistealer, and Win32/Arkeistealer) is a dedicated information theft malware engineered to harvest stored credentials, browser session cookies, cryptocurrency wallets, and keystrokes. Disseminated across enterprise networks and consumer workstations via social engineering, phishing attachments, malicious drive-by downloads, or weaponized software cracks, Arkeistealer executes an initial reconnaissance phase upon system ingress. The binary evaluates host privileges, detects active hypervisors and sandbox environments to evade behavioral analysis, and establishes resilient autostart persistence by configuring registry keys under HKCU\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run or registering background Windows services. Operational mechanics characteristic of this family include credential database extraction, API hooking, system discovery, and encrypted C2 exfiltration. Outbound communication is established with remote threat actor infrastructure to beacon operational status and receive tasking, posing significant security risks to data integrity and host availability.",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk Threat Intelligence Team.",
  "aliases": [
    "PWS:Win32/Arkeistealer",
    "PWS.Win32.Arkeistealer",
    "Win32/Arkeistealer"
  ],
  "enrichment_level": "curated_sourced",
  "faq": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is PWS:Win32/Arkeistealer?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Arkeistealer is a infostealer threat designed to infiltrate Windows systems and execute unauthorized operations without user consent."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How does Arkeistealer compromise target systems?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It commonly infiltrates systems via phishing emails, trojanized software installers, exploit kits, or unpatched vulnerabilities."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What persistence mechanisms does Arkeistealer utilize?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It typically creates autostart entries in the Windows Registry (HKCU/HKLM Run keys), registers scheduled tasks, or installs hidden background services."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What risks does Arkeistealer pose to an enterprise?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "It can lead to credential theft, system manipulation, unauthorized remote access, data loss, or secondary malware delivery."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How can administrators detect and eliminate Arkeistealer?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Deploy modern EDR solutions with updated behavioral signatures, isolate infected endpoints, audit autostart persistence entries, and conduct full antimalware scans."
      }
    }
  ],
  "faq_count": 5,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1555",
    "T1056.001",
    "T1114",
    "T1041",
    "T1082"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-10-16",
  "mitre_attack_detail": [
    {
      "id": "T1552.001",
      "name": "Credentials In Files (Harvesting passwords and wallets from local storage)",
      "tactic": "Credential Access"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1539",
      "name": "Steal Web Session Cookie (Extracting cookies to bypass MFA)",
      "tactic": "Credential Access"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1070.004",
      "name": "Indicator Removal on Host: File Deletion (Deleting the dropped executable after exfiltration)",
      "tactic": "Defense Evasion"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1041",
      "name": "Exfiltration Over C2 Channel",
      "tactic": "Exfiltration"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Isolate the endpoint immediately to prevent any further data exfiltration, though Arkei acts extremely fast.",
    "Assume all passwords saved in the user's browser, all session cookies, and any local cryptocurrency wallets are compromised.",
    "Force immediate password resets for all corporate accounts and revoke all active session tokens for the affected user.",
    "Investigate the initial delivery vector (e.g., determine if the user downloaded cracked software) to prevent reinfection."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not assume MFA protects you against Arkei; stolen session cookies bypass MFA challenges completely.",
    "Avoid closing the incident after cleaning the malware; the real damage is the stolen data, which must be addressed via password resets."
  ],
  "target_industries": [
    "Global / Opportunistic"
  ],
  "motivation": "Opportunistic",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ],
  "attack_stage": [
    "execution",
    "persistence"
  ],
  "ecosystem": [
    "windows_pe"
  ],
  "is_emerging": false,
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "Microsoft Defender Threat Encyclopedia - PWS:Win32/Arkeistealer",
      "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=PWS:Win32/Arkeistealer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kaspersky Threat Intelligence - PWS.Win32.Arkeistealer",
      "url": "https://threats.kaspersky.com/en/threat/"
    },
    {
      "name": "MITRE ATT&CK - Enterprise Techniques",
      "url": "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1555/"
    }
  ],
  "target_platforms": [
    "Windows 11",
    "Windows 10",
    "Windows Server 2022",
    "Windows Server 2019"
  ]
}