Windows-Security

Pass-the-Hash attacks represent the most critical lateral movement vector in Windows environments, turning a single compromised endpoint into domain-wide catastrophe within hours. An attacker dumps NTLM hashes from memory using tools like Mimikatz, then authenticates to remote systems without cracking passwords — bypassing detection mechanisms focused on failed login attempts. Sysmon Event ID 10 provides the definitive detection capability for credential dumping by monitoring process memory access against the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS). This guide delivers comprehensive Pass-the-Hash detection with Sysmon: configuration for memory access monitoring, analysis patterns for LSASS interactions, SIEM integration strategies, and incident response workflows that stop lateral movement before attackers achieve domain persistence. ...

ASREProasting is the lesser-known sibling of Kerberoasting, but it’s just as dangerous and significantly harder to detect. Unlike Kerberoasting, which requires authenticated access to request service tickets, ASREProasting exploits accounts with Kerberos pre-authentication disabled — allowing attackers to request encrypted AS-REP responses for any user without knowing their password. These encrypted responses can be cracked offline to recover plaintext credentials. This guide builds comprehensive ASREProasting detection in Splunk: the Event 4768 query patterns that identify AS-REQ abuse, accounts vulnerable to ASREProasting, volume anomalies, and the Splunk dashboards that turn authentication logs into actionable threat intelligence. ...

Kerberoasting is the technique every red team uses and every blue team underdetects. An attacker requests Kerberos TGS (Ticket Granting Service) tickets for service accounts, then cracks the encrypted portion offline to recover plaintext passwords. The attack leaves Event 4769 footprints on Domain Controllers that most SOCs ignore — and that’s exactly what makes Kerberoasting so effective in real breaches. This guide builds comprehensive Kerberoasting detection in Splunk: the Event 4769 query patterns that catch RC4 encryption abuse, service account targeting, volume anomalies, and the Splunk dashboards that turn raw Kerberos logs into actionable security intelligence. ...

A default-installed Windows 11 endpoint in 2026 has eight major attack surfaces enabled out of the box that should not be: NTLM authentication, LM/NTLMv1 fallback in many cases, unsigned-driver execution, LSASS access from non-protected processes, BitLocker without PIN, Office macros from internet sources, SmartScreen passable via mark-of-the-web bypass, and PowerShell without script-block logging. This Windows 11 enterprise hardening guide for 2026 is the consolidated 10-phase rollout that closes every one of those gaps — aligned with the CIS Microsoft Windows 11 Enterprise Benchmark, Microsoft’s Security Baselines, and the operational realities of running a multi-thousand-endpoint fleet under Intune, Group Policy, or both. ...

NTLM has been on borrowed time for two decades, and Microsoft made it official: as of late 2023 Microsoft formally announced that NTLM is deprecated, with Kerberos and the new Negotiate-based authentication taking over. Windows 11 24H2 and Windows Server 2025 ship with NTLMv1 fully removed, and Microsoft strongly recommends auditing and disabling NTLMv2 wherever Kerberos can take over. This guide walks through how to disable NTLM in Windows safely — auditing first, staging the rollout, and rolling back cleanly if something breaks. ...