Short-lived user account

Cortex XDR Analytics Alert Reference by Alert name

Product

Cortex XDR

Last date published

2024-09-24

Synopsis

Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	1 Hour
Deduplication Period	1 Hour
Required Data	Requires one of the following data sources: Windows Event Collector OR XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)
Detection Modules	Identity Analytics
Detector Tags
ATT&CK Tactic	Defense Evasion (TA0005)
ATT&CK Technique	Valid Accounts (T1078)
Severity	Low

Description

A user was created and deleted within a short period of time.

Attacker's Goals

Evasion using a valid account.

Investigative actions

Check the user who created the account and verify the activity.
Confirm that the account creation was not accidental.

Variations

Abnormal short-lived user account

Synopsis

ATT&CK Tactic	Defense Evasion (TA0005)
ATT&CK Technique	Valid Accounts (T1078)
Severity	Low

Description

A user was observed creating and deleting an account a short time later. This user does not regularly create and delete accounts.

Attacker's Goals

Evasion using a valid account.

Investigative actions

Check the user who created the account and verify the activity.
Confirm that the account creation was not accidental.

Short-lived hidden user account

Synopsis

ATT&CK Tactic	Defense Evasion (TA0005)
ATT&CK Technique	Valid Accounts (T1078)
Severity	Medium

Description

A user was created with a name that mimics a machine account and later deleted within a short period of time. This may be an attacker's attempt to evade detection.

Attacker's Goals

Evasion using a valid account.

Investigative actions

Check the user who created the account and verify the activity.
Confirm that the account creation was not accidental.