Microsoft Defender XDR has introduced Service Account Discovery, a powerful feature that automatically identifies and classifies service accounts in your environment. This enhancement provides better visibility into service account usage, helping security teams manage and secure these critical assets.
According to Microsoft’s official documentation, this feature was rolled out in late March 2024. It allows administrators to:
– View all discovered service accounts in a centralized dashboard.
– Define custom rules for classifying service accounts.
– Detect misuse or unauthorized access attempts.
You Should Know: How to Leverage Service Account Discovery
1. Verify Service Account Discovery in Defender XDR
To check if your service accounts are being detected, navigate to:
Microsoft Defender Portal → Identity → Service Accounts
2. Create Classification Rules
If Defender XDR misses some service accounts, manually define rules using PowerShell:
New-MipServiceAccountRule -Name "SQL-Service-Accounts" -Pattern "svc_sql" -Classification "Critical"
3. Monitor Service Account Activity
Use Advanced Hunting queries to track service account behavior:
IdentityLogonEvents | where AccountName startswith "svc_" | summarize LogonCount = count() by AccountName, LogonType
4. Automate Alerts for Suspicious Activity
Set up custom detection rules in Microsoft Sentinel:
SecurityAlert | where AlertName == "Unusual Service Account Access" | extend Account = tostring(parse_json(Entities)[bash].Name)
5. Remediate Risky Service Accounts
Revoke excessive permissions using:
Set-ADServiceAccount -Identity "svc_mysql" -Enabled $false
What Undercode Say
Service accounts are prime targets for attackers due to their elevated privileges. Defender XDR’s automated discovery reduces blind spots, but security teams must:
– Regularly audit service accounts with:
grep "svc_" /var/log/auth.log
– Enforce least privilege via:
Set-AdUser -Identity "svc_backup" -CannotChangePassword $true
– Monitor lateral movement using:
DeviceNetworkEvents | where InitiatingProcessAccountName contains "svc_"
– Rotate credentials periodically:
kinit -kt /etc/krb5.keytab svc_webserver
Automation is key—combine Defender XDR with Azure Automation or Ansible for proactive security.
Prediction
As attackers increasingly target service accounts, expect more AI-driven anomaly detection features in Defender XDR, such as:
– Behavioral baselining for service accounts.
– Auto-remediation of compromised accounts.
Expected Output:
A hardened service account management strategy with Defender XDR integration.
For more details, visit: Microsoft Defender for Identity – Service Account Discovery
References:
Reported By: Nathanmcnulty At – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
