Adversaries may leverage manufacturer or supplier set default credentials on control system devices. These default credentials may have administrative permissions and may be necessary for initial configuration of the device. It is general best practice to change the passwords for these accounts as soon as possible, but some manufacturers may have devices that have passwords or usernames that cannot be changed. [1]
Default credentials are normally documented in an instruction manual that is either packaged with the device, published online through official means, or published online through unofficial means. Adversaries may leverage default credentials that have not been properly modified or disabled.
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| C0031 | Unitronics Defacement Campaign |
During the Unitronics Defacement Campaign, the CyberAv3ngers discovered and exploited default credentials found on many Unitronics Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Human-Machine Interface (HMI). For many of these devices, the default password was set to ‘1111’.[2][3] |
| ID | Mitigation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| M0801 | Access Management |
Ensure embedded controls and network devices are protected through access management, as these devices often have unknown default accounts which could be used to gain unauthorized access. |
| M0927 | Password Policies |
Review vendor documents and security alerts for potentially unknown or overlooked default credentials within existing devices |
| ID | Data Source | Data Component | Detects |
|---|---|---|---|
| DS0028 | Logon Session | Logon Session Creation |
Monitor logon sessions for default credential use. |
| DS0029 | Network Traffic | Network Traffic Content |
Monitor network traffic for default credential use in protocols that allow unencrypted authentication. |