Detection rules › Splunk
Windows Domain Account Discovery Via Get-NetComputer
The following analytic detects the execution of the PowerView PowerShell cmdlet Get-NetComputer, which is used to query Active Directory for user account details such as "samaccountname," "accountexpires," "lastlogon," and more. It leverages Event ID 4104 from PowerShell Script Block Logging to identify this activity. This behavior is significant as it may indicate an attempt to gather user account information, which is often a precursor to further malicious actions. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to unauthorized access, privilege escalation, or lateral movement within the network.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Discovery | T1087.002 Account Discovery: Domain Account |
Event coverage
| Provider | Event | Title |
|---|---|---|
| PowerShell | Event ID 4104 | Creating Scriptblock text (MessageNumber of MessageTotal). |
Rule body splunk
name: Windows Domain Account Discovery Via Get-NetComputer
id: a7fbbc4e-4571-424a-b627-6968e1c939e4
version: 12
creation_date: '2024-01-10'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: Anomaly
description: The following analytic detects the execution of the PowerView PowerShell cmdlet Get-NetComputer, which is used to query Active Directory for user account details such as "samaccountname," "accountexpires," "lastlogon," and more. It leverages Event ID 4104 from PowerShell Script Block Logging to identify this activity. This behavior is significant as it may indicate an attempt to gather user account information, which is often a precursor to further malicious actions. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to unauthorized access, privilege escalation, or lateral movement within the network.
data_source:
- Powershell Script Block Logging 4104
search: |-
`powershell` EventCode=4104 ScriptBlockText = "*Get-NetComputer*" ScriptBlockText IN ("*samaccountname*", "*accountexpires*", "*lastlogon*", "*lastlogoff*", "*pwdlastset*", "*logoncount*")
| fillnull
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
BY dest signature signature_id
user_id vendor_product EventID
Guid Opcode Name
Path ProcessID ScriptBlockId
ScriptBlockText
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `windows_domain_account_discovery_via_get_netcomputer_filter`
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this analytic, you will need to enable PowerShell Script Block Logging on some or all endpoints. Additional setup here https://help.splunk.com/en/security-offerings/splunk-user-behavior-analytics/get-data-in/5.4.1/add-other-data-to-splunk-uba/configure-powershell-logging-to-see-powershell-anomalies-in-splunk-uba.=
known_false_positives: Administrators may leverage PowerView for legitimate purposes, filter as needed.
references:
- https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-347a
drilldown_searches:
- name: View the detection results for - "$dest$"
search: '%original_detection_search% | search dest = "$dest$"'
earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
latest_offset: $info_max_time$
- name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"
search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
earliest_offset: 7d
latest_offset: "0"
intermediate_findings:
entities:
- field: dest
type: system
score: 20
message: Windows Domain Account Discovery Via Get-NetComputer on $dest$.
analytic_story:
- CISA AA23-347A
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
- T1087.002
product:
- Splunk Enterprise
- Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Cloud
category: endpoint
security_domain: endpoint
tests:
- name: True Positive Test
attack_data:
- data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1087/powerview_get_netuser_preauthnotrequire/get-netuser-not-require-pwh.log
source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational
sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
test_type: unit
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`powershell` EventCode=4104 ScriptBlockText = "*Get-NetComputer*" ScriptBlockText IN ("*samaccountname*", "*accountexpires*", "*lastlogon*", "*lastlogoff*", "*pwdlastset*", "*logoncount*")
Stage 2: fillnull
| fillnull
Stage 3: stats
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
BY dest signature signature_id
user_id vendor_product EventID
Guid Opcode Name
Path ProcessID ScriptBlockId
ScriptBlockText
Stage 4: search
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
Stage 5: search
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
Stage 6: search
| `windows_domain_account_discovery_via_get_netcomputer_filter`
Indicators
Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.
| Field | Kind | Values |
|---|---|---|
EventCode | eq |
|
ScriptBlockText | eq |
|
ScriptBlockText | in |
|