TA0003 · PERSISTENCE
Create Account
New local, domain, or cloud accounts created to provide a durable second way in.
Detect it with
Event ID 4720 (account created) and 4732 (added to privileged group), especially outside business hours.
Why it matters on shift
Create Account is one of the concrete ways adversaries achieve persistence. Recognising it in telemetry lets you name the technique in your ticket and pivot to what came before and after.
What to look for next
After persistence, the next tactic is usually Privilege Escalation. Search your telemetry for the transition before closing the ticket.
3 sub-techniques
How it shows up in practice
- T1136.001
Local Account
Adversaries may create a local account to maintain access to victim systems. Local accounts are those configured by an organization for use by users, remote support, services, or for administration on a single system or service.
- T1136.002
Domain Account
Adversaries may create a domain account to maintain access to victim systems. Domain accounts are those managed by Active Directory Domain Services where access and permissions are configured across systems and services that are part of that domain.
- T1136.003
Cloud Account
Adversaries may create a cloud account to maintain access to victim systems.
Kill-chain context