| ID | Name |
|---|---|
| T1136.001 | Local Account |
| T1136.002 | Domain Account |
| T1136.003 | Cloud Account |
Adversaries may create a local account to maintain access to victim systems. Local accounts are those configured by an organization for use by users, remote support, services, or for administration on a single system or service.
For example, with a sufficient level of access, the Windows net user /add command can be used to create a local account. In Linux, the useradd command can be used, while on macOS systems, the dscl -create command can be used. Local accounts may also be added to network devices, often via common Network Device CLI commands such as username, to ESXi servers via esxcli system account add, or to Kubernetes clusters using the kubectl utility.[1][2]
Such accounts may be used to establish secondary credentialed access that do not require persistent remote access tools to be deployed on the system.
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| G0022 | APT3 |
APT3 has been known to create or enable accounts, such as |
| G0087 | APT39 |
APT39 has created accounts on multiple compromised hosts to perform actions within the network.[4] |
| G0096 | APT41 | |
| G1023 | APT5 |
APT5 has created Local Administrator accounts to maintain access to systems with short-cycle credential rotation.[6] |
| S0274 | Calisto |
Calisto has the capability to add its own account to the victim's machine.[7] |
| S0030 | Carbanak | |
| G1034 | Daggerfly |
Daggerfly created a local account on victim machines to maintain access.[9] |
| S1111 | DarkGate |
DarkGate creates a local user account, |
| G0035 | Dragonfly |
Dragonfly has created accounts on victims, including administrator accounts, some of which appeared to be tailored to each individual staging target.[11] |
| S0363 | Empire |
Empire has a module for creating a local user if permissions allow.[12] |
| G1016 | FIN13 |
FIN13 has created MS-SQL local accounts in a compromised network.[13] |
| S0143 | Flame |
Flame can create backdoor accounts with login "HelpAssistant" on domain connected systems if appropriate rights are available.[14][15] |
| G0117 | Fox Kitten |
Fox Kitten has created a local user account with administrator privileges.[16] |
| S0493 | GoldenSpy | |
| S0394 | HiddenWasp |
HiddenWasp creates a user account as a means to provide initial persistence to the compromised machine.[18] |
| S0601 | Hildegard | |
| G0119 | Indrik Spider |
Indrik Spider has created local system accounts and has added the accounts to privileged groups.[20] |
| G0094 | Kimsuky | |
| G0077 | Leafminer |
Leafminer used a tool called Imecab to set up a persistent remote access account on the victim machine.[22] |
| G0059 | Magic Hound |
Magic Hound has created local accounts named |
| S0084 | Mis-Type |
Mis-Type may create a temporary user on the system named |
| S0039 | Net |
The |
| S0192 | Pupy |
Pupy can user PowerView to execute "net user" commands and create local system accounts.[27] |
| S0085 | S-Type |
S-Type may create a temporary user on the system named |
| S0382 | ServHelper |
ServHelper has created a new user named "supportaccount".[28] |
| S0649 | SMOKEDHAM | |
| G0139 | TeamTNT |
TeamTNT has created local privileged users on victim machines.[30] |
| G0102 | Wizard Spider |
Wizard Spider has created local administrator accounts to maintain persistence in compromised networks.[31] |
| S0412 | ZxShell |
| ID | Mitigation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| M1032 | Multi-factor Authentication |
Use multi-factor authentication for user and privileged accounts. |
| M1026 | Privileged Account Management |
Limit the number of accounts permitted to create other accounts. Limit the usage of local administrator accounts to be used for day-to-day operations that may expose them to potential adversaries. |
| ID | Data Source | Data Component | Detects |
|---|---|---|---|
| DS0017 | Command | Command Execution |
Monitor executed commands and arguments for actions that are associated with local account creation, such as |
| DS0009 | Process | Process Creation |
Monitor newly executed processes associated with account creation, such as net.exe Analytic 1 - Create local admin accounts using net.exe
|
| DS0002 | User Account | User Account Creation |
Monitor for newly constructed user and service accounts through account audits to detect suspicious accounts that may have been created by an adversary. Collect data on account creation within a network, a Kubernetes cluster, or Windows Event ID 4720 (for when a user account is created on a Windows system and domain controller). |