TA0003 · PERSISTENCE
Cloud Account
Adversaries may create a cloud account to maintain access to victim systems.
Detect it with
Collect usage logs from cloud user and administrator accounts to identify unusual activity in the creation of new accounts and assignment of roles to those accounts. Monitor for accounts assigned to admin roles that go over a certain threshold of known admins.
Why it matters on shift
Cloud 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.
Kill-chain context