A user created a pfx file for the first time

Synopsis

Field	Value
Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	1 Day
Required Data	XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)
Detection Modules	Identity Analytics
Detector Tags	Active Directory Certificate Services Analytics
ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006)
ATT&CK Technique	Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files (T1552.001)
Severity	Informational

Description

A user created a pfx file for the first time.

Attacker's Goals

Attackers may export certificates to pfx files to use them for authentication, persistence or NTLM extraction.

Investigative actions

• Check if the pfx creation is legitimate for the user (testing, IT, etc.).
• Follow further actions done by the user (ex. authentication using certificates).

Variations

A user created a pfx in a suspicious folder for the first time

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006)
ATT&CK Technique	Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files (T1552.001)
Severity	Low

Description

A user created a pfx in a suspicious folder which is publicly accessible, for the first time.

Attacker's Goals

Attackers may export certificates to pfx files to use them for authentication, persistence or NTLM extraction.

Investigative actions

• Check if the pfx creation is legitimate for the user (testing, IT, etc.).
• Follow further actions done by the user (ex. authentication using certificates).