U.S. Sanctions 1VPNS: Detecting and Blocking Ransomware Support Infrastructure

---
title: Potential 1VPNS Client Execution
id: 9c8e7b6a-5d4f-3e2c-1a0b-9f8e7d6c5b4a
status: experimental
description: Detects the execution of processes related to the sanctioned First VPN Service (1VPNS) which is utilized by ransomware actors.
references:
  - https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20260715
author: Security Arsenal
date: 2026/07/15
tags:
  - attack.command_and_control
  - attack.t1572
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    ProcessName|contains:
      - '1VPNS'
      - 'FirstVPN'
    CommandLine|contains:
      - '1VPNS'
      - 'FirstVPN'
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Unlikely, unless organization explicitly uses this specific sanctioned provider
level: critical
---
title: Non-Corporate VPN Interface Activity
id: 1a2b3c4d-5e6f-7a8b-9c0d-1e2f3a4b5c6d
status: experimental
description: Detects network activity initiated by common VPN TAP adapter drivers often used by shadow IT VPN services.
references:
  - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1572/
author: Security Arsenal
date: 2026/07/15
tags:
  - attack.command_and_control
  - attack.t1572
logsource:
  category: network_connection
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    Image|endswith:
      - '\openvpn.exe'
      - '\tap0901.exe'
      - '\wintun.dll'
    InitiatingProcessSignatureStatus:
      - 'Unsigned'
      - 'Invalid'
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate personal VPN usage (BYOD) or non-standard corporate VPN clients
level: medium


**KQL (Microsoft Sentinel / Defender)**

// Hunt for 1VPNS process execution and related network activity
DeviceProcessEvents
| where Timestamp > ago(7d)
| where ProcessName has "1VPNS" 
   or ProcessName has "FirstVPN" 
   or FolderPath has "1VPNS"
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, AccountName, ProcessName, FolderPath, SHA256, InitiatingProcessAccountName
| extend TorIP = iff(RemoteIP has "1VPNS", "Potential Match", "Check")
;
// Correlate with network connections
DeviceNetworkEvents
| where Timestamp > ago(3d)
| where RemotePort in (443, 1194) // Common VPN ports
| where InitiatingProcessFileName has "openvpn" or InitiatingProcessFileName has "1VPNS"
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, RemoteIP, RemoteUrl, InitiatingProcessFileName


**Velociraptor VQL**

-- Hunt for 1VPNS related artifacts and unsigned VPN binaries
SELECT FullPath, Size, Mtime, Mode
FROM glob(globs='C:/Program Files/**/*1VPNS*')
WHERE NOT FullPath =~ '\Windows\'

UNION ALL

SELECT Name, Pid, CommandLine, Exe, SigInfo
FROM pslist()
WHERE Name =~ '1VPNS' 
   OR Exe =~ '1VPNS'
   OR (Name =~ 'openvpn' AND SigInfo.Subject =~ 'Unknown')


**Remediation Script (PowerShell)**

# Security Arsenal Remediation Script for 1VPNS
# Requires Administrator Privileges

Write-Host "[+] Starting hunt for 1VPNS processes..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

# Terminate suspicious processes
$processes = Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.ProcessName -like "*1VPNS*" -or $_.ProcessName -like "*FirstVPN*" }

if ($processes) {
    foreach ($proc in $processes) {
        Write-Host "[!] Terminating process: $($proc.ProcessName) (PID: $($proc.Id))" -ForegroundColor Yellow
        Stop-Process -Id $proc.Id -Force
    }
} else {
    Write-Host "[-] No active 1VPNS processes found." -ForegroundColor Green
}

# Locate and quarantine installation directories
$searchPaths = @("C:\Program Files\", "C:\Program Files (x86)\", "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\", "$env:APPDATA\")
$foundFiles = @()

foreach ($path in $searchPaths) {
    if (Test-Path $path) {
        $files = Get-ChildItem -Path $path -Recurse -Filter "*1VPNS*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        if ($files) {
            $foundFiles += $files
        }
    }
}

if ($foundFiles) {
    Write-Host "[!] Found suspicious files. Reviewing..." -ForegroundColor Red
    $foundFiles | ForEach-Object { Write-Host "    Found: $($_.FullName)" }
    # Note: Automated deletion requires validation. Uncomment to remove:
    # $foundFiles | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force -WhatIf
} else {
    Write-Host "[-] No 1VPNS file artifacts found in standard paths." -ForegroundColor Green
}