Local user account creation by a machine account

Synopsis

Field	Value
Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	1 Day
Required Data	Requires one of the following data sources: Windows Event Collector OR XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)
Detection Modules	Identity Analytics
ATT&CK Tactic	Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Valid Accounts: Local Accounts (T1078.003)
Severity	Informational

Description

A machine account was observed creating a rare local user account.

Attacker's Goals

Persistence using a valid account.

Investigative actions

• Check the machine that created the user account and verify its activity.
• Check if the machine account is supposed to create user accounts.
• Investigate whether the same account was created on different hosts as part of an installation process.