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Microsoft Entra admins are currently facing massive lockouts due to an influx of alerts triggered by credentials scraped from decade-old breaches or random dark web pastebins. Without proper context or verification, these combolists—sourced from threat intelligence vendors—lead to endless false positives, drowning IT teams in unnecessary noise.
Hudson Rock emphasizes the importance of using complete infostealer datasets instead of unreliable combolists. Their approach relies on real, documented compromises with full provenance, ensuring precise and actionable intelligence that minimizes false alerts and keeps users safe.
For more context, read the BleepingComputer article.
You Should Know: How to Detect and Prevent False Credential Alerts
1. Verify Compromised Credentials Before Locking Accounts
Use tools like Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) or DeHashed to check if credentials are from recent breaches:
curl -s "https://api.dehashed.com/[email protected]" -u API_KEY:
- Implement Conditional Access Policies in Microsoft Entra
Prevent unnecessary lockouts by enforcing risk-based authentication:
New-MgIdentityConditionalAccessPolicy -DisplayName "Block High-Risk Logins" -State "Enabled" -Conditions @{...}
- Monitor Suspicious Login Attempts with SIEM Tools
Use Splunk or Elasticsearch to filter out false positives:index=auth (failed OR lockout) NOT (src_ip=10.0.0.0/8 OR src_ip=192.168.0.0/16)
4. Automate Credential Validation with Python
Check leaked credentials against internal databases:
import requests
def check_breach(email):
response = requests.get(f"https://haveibeenpwned.com/api/v3/breachedaccount/{email}")
return response.json() if response.status_code == 200 else None
- Use Windows Event Logs to Track Account Lockouts
Extract lockout events from Security logs:
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Security'; ID=4740}
6. Linux: Detect Brute-Force Attacks with Fail2Ban
Block repeated failed SSH attempts:
sudo fail2ban-client status sshd
What Undercode Say
False credential alerts waste time and disrupt productivity. Instead of blindly trusting combolists, security teams should:
– Correlate logs with threat intelligence.
– Enforce MFA to reduce reliance on passwords.
– Use deception tech (honeytokens) to detect credential misuse.
Key Commands to Remember:
Check leaked hashes against local users (Linux)
awk -F: '{print $1}' /etc/passwd | while read user; do grep "$user" leaked_hashes.txt; done
Windows: Find locked-out accounts
net accounts /domain
Expected Output:
A streamlined security workflow that reduces false positives while keeping real threats in check.
References:
Reported By: Alon Gal – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
