Create Account

Adversaries may create an account to maintain access to victim systems.[1] With a sufficient level of access, creating such accounts may be used to establish secondary credentialed access that do not require persistent remote access tools to be deployed on the system.

Accounts may be created on the local system or within a domain or cloud tenant. In cloud environments, adversaries may create accounts that only have access to specific services, which can reduce the chance of detection.

ID: T1136
Sub-techniques:  T1136.001, T1136.002, T1136.003
Tactic: Persistence
Platforms: Azure AD, Containers, Google Workspace, IaaS, Linux, Network, Office 365, SaaS, Windows, macOS
Contributors: Austin Clark, @c2defense; Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC); Praetorian
Version: 2.4
Created: 14 December 2017
Last Modified: 31 January 2024

Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
C0025 2016 Ukraine Electric Power Attack

During the 2016 Ukraine Electric Power Attack, Sandworm Team added a login to a SQL Server with sp_addlinkedsrvlogin.[2]

G0119 Indrik Spider

Indrik Spider used wmic.exe to add a new user to the system.[1]

G1015 Scattered Spider

Scattered Spider creates new user identities within the compromised organization.[3]

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1032 Multi-factor Authentication

Use multi-factor authentication for user and privileged accounts.

M1030 Network Segmentation

Configure access controls and firewalls to limit access to domain controllers and systems used to create and manage accounts.

M1028 Operating System Configuration

Protect domain controllers by ensuring proper security configuration for critical servers.

M1026 Privileged Account Management

Limit the number of accounts with permissions to create other accounts. Do not allow domain administrator accounts to be used for day-to-day operations that may expose them to potential adversaries on unprivileged systems.

Detection

ID Data Source Data Component Detects
DS0017 Command Command Execution

Monitor executed commands and arguments for actions that are associated with account creation, such as net user or useradd

DS0009 Process Process Creation

Monitor newly executed processes associated with account creation, such as net.exe

DS0002 User Account User Account Creation

Monitor for newly constructed user accounts through account audits to detect suspicious accounts that may have been created by an adversary. Collect data on account creation within a network or Windows Event ID 4720 (for when a user account is created on a Windows system and domain controller).

References