Defensive Strategies for TA0008

1. Application Access Token (T1550.001)

Defenses:

• Token Security:

  • Rotate and revoke tokens periodically, especially after a potential breach.

  • Use Azure Managed Identities for secure token management.

  • Restrict token scope to the minimum permissions required (Principle of Least Privilege).

• Conditional Access:

  • Implement policies to ensure that tokens are only issued to compliant devices and trusted locations.

  • Enforce MFA for token issuance where possible.

• Audit and Monitoring:

  • Use Azure Monitor or Microsoft Sentinel to track unusual API calls or token activity via logs such as Azure AD Sign-ins and Application logs.

2. Pass the Hash (T1550.002)

Defenses:

• Disable NTLM:

  • Where feasible, disable NTLM authentication entirely using Group Policy and enforce Kerberos instead.

• Credential Protection:

  • Enable Credential Guard on Windows to prevent attackers from extracting password hashes.

  • Regularly reset passwords for accounts synchronized between on-premises AD and Entra ID.

• Privileged Account Management:

  • Use Azure Privileged Identity Management (PIM) to limit exposure of privileged accounts.

• Monitoring:

  • Analyze sign-ins and authentication patterns for anomalies, focusing on NTLM authentications.

3. Pass the Ticket (T1550.003)

Defenses:

• Kerberos Ticket Expiry:

  • Reduce Kerberos ticket lifetimes to limit the viability of stolen tickets.

• Service Account Hardening:

  • Ensure SPNs (Service Principal Names) are secured and constrained to specific purposes.

• Privileged Account Segmentation:

  • Use separate accounts for administrative tasks and day-to-day operations to reduce ticket exposure.

• Monitoring and Detection:

  • Enable logging for Kerberos events (Event ID 4769, 4768) and monitor for anomalies such as tickets issued to unauthorized systems.

4. Web Session Cookie (T1550.004)

Defenses:

• Session Security:

  • Enforce short session lifetimes and require frequent re-authentication for sensitive accounts.

  • Use HTTP-only, Secure, and SameSite attributes for cookies to reduce client-side tampering and cross-site attacks.

• Zero Trust Enforcement:

  • Leverage continuous access evaluation (CAE) in Azure AD to monitor for unusual session activities and enforce token revocation dynamically.

• Browser Security:

  • Encourage users to avoid public or untrusted devices and clear sessions after use.

  • Deploy Microsoft Defender SmartScreen or similar tools to prevent phishing that may steal cookies.

• Advanced Threat Detection:

  • Use Microsoft Defender for Identity to detect anomalous browser patterns or cookie reuse from unexpected geographies or devices.

Defenses Across Sub-techniques

Mitigation	Guidance
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)	Enforce MFA universally, especially for administrative and privileged accounts. Use phishing-resistant MFA methods, such as hardware security keys (FIDO2).
Privileged Identity Management	Apply just-in-time access with Azure AD PIM to limit token exposure for administrative roles.
Audit and Logging	Continuously monitor Entra ID logs for unusual authentication patterns (e.g., repeated token refresh attempts, cookie reuse from new geolocations). Centralize log analysis with Microsoft Sentinel or other SIEM solutions.
Endpoint Security:	Harden endpoint devices with tools like Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Ensure workstations are patched to prevent credential theft methods (e.g., Mimikatz).
Incident Response Playbooks	Develop playbooks for compromised credentials, including automated token and session revocation through PowerShell or Azure AD APIs.
Conditional Access Policies	Implement session control policies in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps to enforce real-time access restrictions.
User Education	Train users to identify and avoid phishing attempts that target session cookies or token theft.