Pass the Ticket

Implement robust Active Directory configurations using group policies to control access and reduce the attack surface. Specific examples include: * Account Configuration: Use provisioned domain accounts rather than local accounts to leverage centralized control and auditing capabilities. * Interactive Logon Restrictions: Enforce group policies that prohibit interactive logons for accounts that should not directly access systems. * Remote Desktop Settings: Limit Remote Desktop logons to authorized accounts to prevent misuse by adversaries. * Dedicated Administrative Accounts: Create specialized domain-wide accounts that are restricted from interactive logons but can perform specific tasks like installations or repository access. * Authentication Silos: Configure Authentication Silos in Active Directory to create access zones with restrictions based on membership in the Protected Users global security group. This setup enhances security by applying additional protections to high-risk accounts, limiting their exposure to potential attacks.

Set and enforce secure password policies for accounts.

Manage the creation, modification, use, and permissions associated to user accounts.

Manage the creation, modification, use, and permissions associated to privileged accounts, including SYSTEM and root.

Monitor domains for unusual credential logons. Limit credential overlap across systems to prevent the damage of credential compromise. Ensure that local administrator accounts have complex, unique passwords. Do not allow a user to be a local administrator for multiple systems. Limit domain admin account permissions to domain controllers and limited servers. Delegate other admin functions to separate accounts. (Citation: ADSecurity AD Kerberos Attacks) For containing the impact of a previously generated golden ticket, reset the built-in KRBTGT account password twice, which will invalidate any existing golden tickets that have been created with the KRBTGT hash and other Kerberos tickets derived from it. (Citation: CERT-EU Golden Ticket Protection) Attempt to identify and block unknown or malicious software that could be used to obtain Kerberos tickets and use them to authenticate by using whitelisting (Citation: Beechey 2010) tools, like AppLocker, (Citation: Windows Commands JPCERT) (Citation: NSA MS AppLocker) or Software Restriction Policies (Citation: Corio 2008) where appropriate. (Citation: TechNet Applocker vs SRP)