Rare NTLM Usage by User

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: Palo Alto Networks Firewall EAL Logs OR XDR Agent
Detection Modules	Identity Analytics
ATT&CK Tactic	Lateral Movement (TA0008)
ATT&CK Technique	Use Alternate Authentication Material (T1550)
Severity	Informational

Description

Rare authentication by user account to host via NTLM. The user has not authenticated with NTLM in the past 30 days. This may be indicative of downgrade attacks from Kerberos to NTLM.

Attacker's Goals

The attacker is attempting to move laterally within a compromised network.

Investigative actions

Verify any successful authentication for the user account referenced by the alert, as these can indicate the attacker managed to use the stolen credentials.