Sean Metcalf

I improve security for enterprises around the world working for TrustedSec & I am @PyroTek3 on Twitter. Read the About page (top left) for information about me. :) https://adsecurity.org/?page_id=8

Author's posts

Sneaky Active Directory Persistence #17: Group Policy

The content in this post describes a method through which an attacker could persist administrative access to Active Directory after having Domain Admin level rights for about 5 minutes. Complete list of Sneaky Active Directory Persistence Tricks posts This post explores how an attacker could leverage the built-in Active Directory management capability called Group Policy …

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Sneaky Active Directory Persistence #16: Computer Accounts & Domain Controller Silver Tickets

The content in this post describes a method by which an attacker could persist administrative access to Active Directory after having Domain Admin level rights for about 5 minutes. All posts in my Sneaky Active Directory Persistence Tricks series This post explores how an attacker could leverage computer account credentials to persist in an enterprise …

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ADSecurity.org’s Unofficial Guide to Mimikatz & Command Reference Updated for Mimikatz v2.1 alpha 20160229

ADSecurity.org’s Unofficial Guide to Mimikatz & Command Reference page is updated for the new modules/features in Mimikatz v2.1 alpha 20160229. According to Mimikatz author, Benjamin Delpy, the following updates are included in the most recent Mimikatz version(s): Mimikatz Release Date: 2/29/2016 2.1 alpha 20160229 (oe.eo) edition System Environment Variables & other stuff [new] System Environment …

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ADSecurity.org Now Sponsored by Trimarc!

Sean has founded a new security company called Trimarc focused on providing enterprise security solutions. Launching today, Trimarc’s mission is to identify ways to better protect organizations from modern threats not effectively stopped by traditional security measures. ADSecurity.org will continue thanks to Trimarc! Check out Trimarc’s capabilities at TrimarcSecurity.com.

PowerShell Version 5 is Available for Download (again)

After about two months of Microsoft PowerShell developers working around the clock (probably), the bug that wound up causing the WMF 5.0 RTM installer to be pulled is now fixed. There was an issue with the original release dealing with PSModulePath ($Env:PSModulePath) which was reset to default after installation of the original PowerShell v5 installer. …

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Building an Effective Active Directory Lab Environment for Testing

This post is not meant to describe the ultimate lab configuration. Instead the focus is on a lab environment that can be stood up quickly and easily as a learning tool. The best way to learn about computer networking and security is to have a home lab. The great thing is that a home lab …

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Detecting Offensive PowerShell Attack Tools

At DerbyCon V (2015), I presented on Active Directory Attack & Defense and part of this included how to detect & defend against PowerShell attacks. Update: I presented at BSides Charm (Baltimore) on PowerShell attack & defense in April 2016. More information on PowerShell Security: PowerShell Security: PowerShell Attack Tools, Mitigation, & Detection The most …

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PowerShell Version 5 Security Enhancements

PowerShell version 5 is RTM (As of 12/18/2015). Prior to this there was a “production preview” available since August which means it was supported, but not final. With the final release of PowerShell v5 now available, I highly recommend you download PowerShell v5 and start testing to prepare for production deployment. While the PowerShell v5 …

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Microsoft EMET 5.5 Released – Benefits, New Features, Protection, Logging, & GPO Config

Microsoft recently released Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) version 5.5 (it jumped from 5.2 to 5.5) which includes Windows 10 compatibility and better GPO support (among others). I’ve included information from a variety of Microsoft sources in this post so that others don’t have to search for the data separately. The resources/references are listed at …

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Active Directory Recon Without Admin Rights

A fact that is often forgotten (or misunderstood), is that most objects and their attributes can be viewed (read) by authenticated users (most often, domain users). The challenge is that admins may think that since this data is most easily accessible via admin tools such as “Active Directory User and Computers” (dsa.msc) or “Active Directory …

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