Account Discovery: Local Account
Other sub-techniques of Account Discovery (4)
ID | Name |
---|---|
T1087.001 | Local Account |
T1087.002 | Domain Account |
T1087.003 | Email Account |
T1087.004 | Cloud Account |
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of local system accounts. This information can help adversaries determine which local accounts exist on a system to aid in follow-on behavior.
Commands such as net user
and net localgroup
of the Net utility and id
and groups
on macOS and Linux can list local users and groups. On Linux, local users can also be enumerated through the use of the /etc/passwd
file.
Procedure Examples
Name | Description |
---|---|
admin@338 |
admin@338 actors used the following commands following exploitation of a machine with LOWBALL malware to enumerate user accounts: |
Agent Tesla |
Agent Tesla can collect account information from the victim’s machine.[2] |
APT1 |
APT1 used the commands |
APT3 |
APT3 has used a tool that can obtain info about local and global group users, power users, and administrators.[4] |
APT32 |
APT32 enumerated administrative users using the commands |
Bankshot |
Bankshot gathers domain and account names/information through process monitoring.[6] |
BloodHound |
BloodHound can identify users with local administrator rights.[7] |
Carbon |
Carbon runs the |
Comnie | |
Duqu |
The discovery modules used with Duqu can collect information on accounts and permissions.[10] |
Elise |
Elise executes |
Empire |
Empire can acquire local and domain user account information.[12] |
Epic |
Epic gathers a list of all user accounts, privilege classes, and time of last logon.[13] |
GeminiDuke |
GeminiDuke collects information on local user accounts from the victim.[14] |
InvisiMole |
InvisiMole has a command to list account information on the victim’s machine.[15] |
Kazuar |
Kazuar gathers information on local groups and members on the victim’s machine.[16] |
Ke3chang |
Ke3chang performs account discovery using commands such as |
Kwampirs |
Kwampirs collects a list of accounts with the command |
Mis-Type |
Mis-Type may create a file containing the results of the command |
MURKYTOP |
MURKYTOP has the capability to retrieve information about users on remote hosts.[20] |
Net |
Commands under |
OilRig |
OilRig has run |
OSInfo | |
Pony |
Pony has used the |
Poseidon Group |
Poseidon Group searches for administrator accounts on both the local victim machine and the network.[24] |
PoshC2 |
PoshC2 can enumerate local and domain user account information.[25] |
PowerSploit |
PowerSploit's |
POWERSTATS |
POWERSTATS can retrieve usernames from compromised hosts.[28] |
PUNCHBUGGY |
PUNCHBUGGY can gather user names.[29] |
Pupy |
Pupy uses PowerView and Pywerview to perform discovery commands such as net user, net group, net local group, etc.[30] |
RATANKBA | |
Remsec | |
S-Type |
S-Type runs the command |
SHOTPUT |
SHOTPUT has a command to retrieve information about connected users.[33] |
SoreFang |
SoreFang can collect usernames from the local system via |
Threat Group-3390 |
Threat Group-3390 has used |
TrickBot | |
Turla |
Turla has used |
USBferry |
USBferry can use |
Valak |
Valak has the ability to enumerate local admin accounts.[40] |
Mitigations
Mitigation | Description |
---|---|
Operating System Configuration |
Prevent administrator accounts from being enumerated when an application is elevating through UAC since it can lead to the disclosure of account names. The Registry key is located at |
Detection
System and network discovery techniques normally occur throughout an operation as an adversary learns the environment. Data and events should not be viewed in isolation, but as part of a chain of behavior that could lead to other activities, such as Lateral Movement, based on the information obtained.
Monitor processes and command-line arguments for actions that could be taken to gather system and network information. Remote access tools with built-in features may interact directly with the Windows API to gather information. Information may also be acquired through Windows system management tools such as Windows Management Instrumentation and PowerShell.
References
- FireEye Threat Intelligence. (2015, December 1). China-based Cyber Threat Group Uses Dropbox for Malware Communications and Targets Hong Kong Media Outlets. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- The DigiTrust Group. (2017, January 12). The Rise of Agent Tesla. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
- Mandiant. (n.d.). APT1 Exposing One of China’s Cyber Espionage Units. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- Symantec Security Response. (2016, September 6). Buckeye cyberespionage group shifts gaze from US to Hong Kong. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
- Dahan, A. (2017). Operation Cobalt Kitty. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
- Sherstobitoff, R. (2018, March 08). Hidden Cobra Targets Turkish Financial Sector With New Bankshot Implant. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- Red Team Labs. (2018, April 24). Hidden Administrative Accounts: BloodHound to the Rescue. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- GovCERT. (2016, May 23). Technical Report about the Espionage Case at RUAG. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- Grunzweig, J. (2018, January 31). Comnie Continues to Target Organizations in East Asia. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- Symantec Security Response. (2011, November). W32.Duqu: The precursor to the next Stuxnet. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- Falcone, R., et al.. (2015, June 16). Operation Lotus Blossom. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
- Schroeder, W., Warner, J., Nelson, M. (n.d.). Github PowerShellEmpire. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
- Kaspersky Lab's Global Research & Analysis Team. (2014, August 06). The Epic Turla Operation: Solving some of the mysteries of Snake/Uroboros. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
- F-Secure Labs. (2015, September 17). The Dukes: 7 years of Russian cyberespionage. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
- Hromcová, Z. (2018, June 07). InvisiMole: Surprisingly equipped spyware, undercover since 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- Levene, B, et al. (2017, May 03). Kazuar: Multiplatform Espionage Backdoor with API Access. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
- Villeneuve, N., Bennett, J. T., Moran, N., Haq, T., Scott, M., & Geers, K. (2014). OPERATION “KE3CHANG”: Targeted Attacks Against Ministries of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- Symantec Security Response Attack Investigation Team. (2018, April 23). New Orangeworm attack group targets the healthcare sector in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- Gross, J. (2016, February 23). Operation Dust Storm. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- FireEye. (2018, March 16). Suspected Chinese Cyber Espionage Group (TEMP.Periscope) Targeting U.S. Engineering and Maritime Industries. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- Savill, J. (1999, March 4). Net.exe reference. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
- Falcone, R. and Lee, B.. (2016, May 26). The OilRig Campaign: Attacks on Saudi Arabian Organizations Deliver Helminth Backdoor. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- hasherezade. (2016, April 11). No money, but Pony! From a mail to a trojan horse. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- Kaspersky Lab's Global Research and Analysis Team. (2016, February 9). Poseidon Group: a Targeted Attack Boutique specializing in global cyber-espionage. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- Nettitude. (2018, July 23). Python Server for PoshC2. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- PowerShellMafia. (2012, May 26). PowerSploit - A PowerShell Post-Exploitation Framework. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- PowerSploit. (n.d.). PowerSploit. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
- Singh, S. et al.. (2018, March 13). Iranian Threat Group Updates Tactics, Techniques and Procedures in Spear Phishing Campaign. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- Gorelik, M.. (2019, June 10). SECURITY ALERT: FIN8 IS BACK IN BUSINESS, TARGETING THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- Nicolas Verdier. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- Trend Micro. (2017, February 27). RATANKBA: Delving into Large-scale Watering Holes against Enterprises. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
- Kaspersky Lab's Global Research & Analysis Team. (2016, August 9). The ProjectSauron APT. Technical Analysis. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
- Falcone, R. and Wartell, R.. (2015, July 27). Observations on CVE-2015-3113, Prior Zero-Days and the Pirpi Payload. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
- CISA. (2020, July 16). MAR-10296782-1.v1 – SOREFANG. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- Counter Threat Unit Research Team. (2017, June 27). BRONZE UNION Cyberespionage Persists Despite Disclosures. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- Salinas, M., Holguin, J. (2017, June). Evolution of Trickbot. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
- Anthony, N., Pascual, C.. (2018, November 1). Trickbot Shows Off New Trick: Password Grabber Module. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
- Faou, M. (2020, May). From Agent.btz to ComRAT v4: A ten-year journey. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- Chen, J.. (2020, May 12). Tropic Trooper’s Back: USBferry Attack Targets Air gapped Environments. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- Salem, E. et al. (2020, May 28). VALAK: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE . Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- UCF. (n.d.). The system must require username and password to elevate a running application.. Retrieved December 18, 2017.