Home/ATT&CK Technique/Cloud Account
ATT&CK Technique

Cloud Account

T1136.003 · persistence

Adversaries may create a cloud account to maintain access to victim systems. With a sufficient level of access, such accounts may be used to establish secondary credentialed access that does not require persistent remote access tools to be deployed on the system. In addition to user accounts, cloud accounts may be associated with services.

Cloud providers handle the concept of service accounts in different ways. In Azure, service accounts include service principals and managed identities, which can be linked to various resources such as OAuth applications, serverless functions, and virtual machines in order to grant those resources permissions to perform various activities in the environment. In GCP, service accounts can also be linked to specific resources, as well as be impersonated by other accounts for Temporary Elevated Cloud Access.

While AWS has no specific concept of service accounts, resources can be directly granted permission to assume roles. Adversaries may create accounts that only have access to specific cloud services, which can reduce the chance of detection. Once an adversary has created a cloud account, they can then manipulate that account to ensure persistence and allow access to additional resources - for example, by adding Additional Cloud Credentials or assigning Additional Cloud Roles.

IaaSSaaSOffice SuiteIdentity Provider
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Actors Using This

3
russiaAPT29
predominantly_english_speaking_youth_organized_crimeLAPSUS$
chinaSilk Typhoon
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Likely Attack Path

Techniques the same actors pair with this one distinctively - those showing up among actors who use this technique noticeably more than across all actors (lift > 1.15), grouped by kill-chain phase. The × is that lift multiplier; the shared-actor count is in the tooltip. A near-universal technique pairs with everything at baseline, so its list is short by design.
persistence same
T1098.001 · Additional Cloud Credentials ×23.80T1098.005 · Device Registration ×19.83T1556 · Modify Authentication Process ×15.87
credential-access later
T1606.002 · SAML Tokens ×47.60T1528 · Steal Application Access Token ×34.00T1606 · Forge Web Credentials ×29.75T1110.003 · Password Spraying ×8.21
discovery later
T1087.004 · Cloud Account ×47.60
lateral-movement later
T1021.007 · Cloud Services ×79.33T1550.004 · Web Session Cookie ×34.00T1550.001 · Application Access Token ×23.80T1021.006 · Windows Remote Management ×4.86
collection later
T1074.002 · Remote Data Staging ×29.75T1213.003 · Code Repositories ×18.31T1114.002 · Remote Email Collection ×7.21
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Atomic Tests

3
Executable Atomic Red Team test cases for exercising this technique in a lab. Copy a command, run it on the listed platform, confirm your detections fire.
shiaas:awsAWS - Create a new IAM user
Creates a new IAM user in AWS. Upon successful creation, a new user will be created. Adversaries create new IAM users so that their malicious activity do not interupt the normal functions of the compromised users and can remain undetected for a long time 
aws iam create-user --user-name #{username}
powershellazure-adAzure AD - Create a new user
Creates a new user in Azure AD. Upon successful creation, a new user will be created. Adversaries create new users so that their malicious activity does not interrupt the normal functions of the compromised users and can remain undetected for a long time.
Connect-AzureAD
$userprincipalname = "#{userprincipalname}"
$username = "#{username}"      
$password = "#{password}"
$PasswordProfile = New-Object -TypeName Microsoft.Open.AzureAD.Model.PasswordProfile
$PasswordProfile.Password = $password
New-AzureADUser -DisplayName $username -PasswordProfile $PasswordProfile -UserPrincipalName $userprincipalname -AccountEnabled $true -MailNickName $username
powershellazure-adAzure AD - Create a new user via Azure CLI
Creates a new user in Azure AD via the Azure CLI. Upon successful creation, a new user will be created. Adversaries create new users so that their malicious activity does not interrupt the normal functions of the compromised users and can remain undetected for a long time.
az login
$userprincipalname = "#{userprincipalname}"
$username = "#{username}"      
$password = "#{password}"
az ad user create --display-name $username --password $password --user-principal-name $userprincipalname
az ad user list --filter "displayname eq 'atomicredteam'"
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Mitigations

3
MITRE ATT&CK mitigations - vendor-agnostic guidance for reducing exposure to this technique.
M1026Privileged Account Management

Privileged Account Management focuses on implementing policies, controls, and tools to securely manage privileged accounts (e.g., SYSTEM, root, or administrative accounts). This includes restricting access, limiting the scope of permissions, monitoring privileged account usage, and ensuring accountability through logging and auditing.

Account Permissions and Roles
  • Implement RBAC and least privilege principles to allocate permissions securely.
  • Use tools like Active Directory Group Policies to enforce access restrictions.
Credential Security
  • Deploy password vaulting tools like CyberArk, HashiCorp Vault, or KeePass for secure storage and rotation of credentials.
  • Enforce password policies for complexity, uniqueness, and expiration using tools like Microsoft Group Policy Objects (GPO).
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
  • Enforce MFA for all privileged accounts using Duo Security, Okta, or Microsoft Azure AD MFA.
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
  • Use PAM solutions like CyberArk, BeyondTrust, or Thycotic to manage, monitor, and audit privileged access.
Auditing and Monitoring
  • Integrate activity monitoring into your SIEM (e.g., Splunk or QRadar) to detect and alert on anomalous privileged account usage.
Just-In-Time Access
  • Deploy JIT solutions like Azure Privileged Identity Management (PIM) or configure ephemeral roles in AWS and GCP to grant time-limited elevated permissions.
Tools for Implementation Privileged Access Management (PAM)
  • CyberArk, BeyondTrust, Thycotic, HashiCorp Vault.
Credential Management
  • Microsoft LAPS (Local Admin Password Solution), Password Safe, HashiCorp Vault, KeePass.
Multi-Factor Authentication
  • Duo Security, Okta, Microsoft Azure MFA, Google Authenticator.
Linux Privilege Management
  • sudo configuration, SELinux, AppArmor.
Just-In-Time Access
  • Azure Privileged Identity Management (PIM), AWS IAM Roles with session constraints, GCP Identity-Aware Proxy.
M1030Network Segmentation

Network segmentation involves dividing a network into smaller, isolated segments to control and limit the flow of traffic between devices, systems, and applications. By segmenting networks, organizations can reduce the attack surface, restrict lateral movement by adversaries, and protect critical assets from compromise. Effective network segmentation leverages a combination of physical boundaries, logical separation through VLANs, and access control policies enforced by network appliances like firewalls, routers, and cloud-based configurations.

Segment Critical Systems
  • Identify and group systems based on their function, sensitivity, and risk. Examples include payment systems, HR databases, production systems, and internet-facing servers.
  • Use VLANs, firewalls, or routers to enforce logical separation.
Implement DMZ for Public-Facing Services
  • Host web servers, DNS servers, and email servers in a DMZ to limit their access to internal systems.
  • Apply strict firewall rules to filter traffic between the DMZ and internal networks.
Use Cloud-Based Segmentation
  • In cloud environments, use VPCs, subnets, and security groups to isolate applications and enforce traffic rules.
  • Apply AWS Transit Gateway or Azure VNet peering for controlled connectivity between cloud segments.
Apply Microsegmentation for Workloads
  • Use software-defined networking (SDN) tools to implement workload-level segmentation and prevent lateral movement.
Restrict Traffic with ACLs and Firewalls
  • Apply Access Control Lists (ACLs) to network devices to enforce "deny by default" policies.
  • Use firewalls to restrict both north-south (external-internal) and east-west (internal-internal) traffic.
Monitor and Audit Segmented Networks
  • Regularly review firewall rules, ACLs, and segmentation policies.
  • Monitor network flows for anomalies to ensure segmentation is effective.
Test Segmentation Effectiveness
  • Perform periodic penetration tests to verify that unauthorized access is blocked between network segments.
M1032Multi-factor Authentication

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enhances security by requiring users to provide at least two forms of verification to prove their identity before granting access. These factors typically include: - Something you know: Passwords, PINs. - Something you have: Physical tokens, smartphone authenticator apps. - Something you are: Biometric data such as fingerprints, facial recognition, or retinal scans. Implementing MFA across all critical systems and services ensures robust protection against account takeover and unauthorized access.

Identity and Access Management (IAM)
  • Use IAM solutions like Azure Active Directory, Okta, or AWS IAM to enforce MFA policies for all user logins, especially for privileged roles.
  • Enable conditional access policies to enforce MFA for risky sign-ins (e.g., unfamiliar devices, geolocations).
  • Enable Conditional Access policies to only allow logins from trusted devices, such as those enrolled in Intune or joined via Hybrid/Entra.
Authentication Tools and Methods
  • Use authenticator applications such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or Authy for time-based one-time passwords (TOTP).
  • Deploy hardware-based tokens like YubiKey, RSA SecurID, or smart cards for additional security.
  • Enforce biometric authentication for compatible devices and applications.
Secure Legacy Systems
  • Integrate MFA solutions with older systems using third-party tools like Duo Security or Thales SafeNet.
  • Enable RADIUS/NPS servers to facilitate MFA for VPNs, RDP, and other network logins.
Monitoring and Alerting
  • Use SIEM tools to monitor failed MFA attempts, login anomalies, or brute-force attempts against MFA systems.
  • Implement alerts for suspicious MFA activities, such as repeated failed codes or new device registrations.
Training and Policy Enforcement
  • Educate employees on the importance of MFA and secure authenticator usage.
  • Enforce policies that require MFA on all critical systems, especially for remote access, privileged accounts, and cloud applications.
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Detection Coverage

1/6 layers
Coverage across standard detection surfaces. Rows marked none have no rule of that type mapped. Some are real blind spots worth closing; others are simply not applicable to this technique (e.g. YARA matches malware files, not network behaviour).
Behavioral / log (Sigma) 3
Analytics (MITRE CAR) none
Runtime / container (Falco) none
File / malware (YARA) none
Network (Suricata/Snort) none
Vuln scan (Nuclei) none
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Comply & Defend

NIST 800-53AC-02, AC-03, AC-04, AC-05, AC-06, AC-20, CM-05, CM-06, CM-07, IA-02, IA-05, SC-07, SI-04, SI-07
D3FEND7 defensive techniques
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MITRE ATT&CKAtomic Red Teamcar (MITRE)
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