Detecting Lateral Movement with Splunk
FreeHunt for adversary lateral movement using Splunk.
Free · Opens the source repo
What Detecting Lateral Movement with Splunk does
Detecting Lateral Movement with Splunk is a specialized skill designed for cybersecurity professionals who need to identify and investigate unauthorized movements within their networks. This skill leverages Splunk's powerful search processing language (SPL) to analyze Windows authentication logs, SMB traffic, and remote service abuses such as WMI, PsExec, and RDP. By focusing on the MITRE ATT&CK framework's TA0008 techniques, it provides a structured approach to threat hunting and incident response, ensuring that security teams can proactively detect and respond to lateral movement activities.
The skill begins by defining the scope of lateral movement techniques to hunt, such as RDP and SMB. It then utilizes SPL queries to search for specific logon types associated with network and remote interactive access. By mapping authentication relationships and identifying anomalous patterns, security analysts can uncover potential threats that may indicate a compromised environment. The workflow also emphasizes correlating authentication events with process activities to provide a comprehensive view of lateral movement paths.
This skill is particularly valuable in scenarios where credential theft has been detected, allowing teams to trace subsequent lateral activities across their networks. It is also beneficial during incident response efforts to assess the extent of a compromise and identify affected systems. With the prerequisites of having Splunk Enterprise or Cloud and appropriate Windows event data, users can effectively utilize this skill to enhance their threat detection capabilities.
In summary, Detecting Lateral Movement with Splunk empowers security professionals to proactively hunt for adversary movements, investigate unusual authentication patterns, and respond efficiently during incidents. It is an essential tool for organizations looking to strengthen their cybersecurity posture against lateral movement threats.
When to use it
Use this skill when hunting for adversary movements between compromised systems or investigating unusual authentication patterns during incident response.
When not to use it
This skill is not suitable for environments without Splunk or those lacking the necessary Windows event data and Sysmon telemetry.
What you can build with it
Investigating Credential Theft
After detecting credential theft, use this skill to trace lateral movements across the network and identify compromised systems.
Incident Response
During an incident response, apply this skill to scope the breadth of compromise by analyzing unusual authentication patterns.
Proactive Threat Hunting
Utilize this skill to proactively hunt for TA0008 lateral movement techniques before any incidents occur.
How to install Detecting Lateral Movement with Splunk
View source1. Install with the skills CLI
npx skills add mukul975/anthropic-cybersecurity-skills/detecting-lateral-movement-with-splunk --agent claude-code2. Or install it manually
Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.
Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs
Inside SKILL.md
Written by mukul975Detecting Lateral Movement with Splunk
When to Use
- When hunting for adversary movement between compromised systems
- After detecting credential theft to trace subsequent lateral activity
- When investigating unusual authentication patterns across the network
- During incident response to scope the breadth of compromise
- When proactively hunting for TA0008 (Lateral Movement) techniques
Prerequisites
- Splunk Enterprise or Splunk Cloud with Windows event data ingested
- Windows Security Event Logs forwarded (4624, 4625, 4648, 4672, 4768, 4769)
- Sysmon deployed for process creation and network connection data
- Network flow data or firewall logs for SMB/RDP/WinRM correlation
- Active Directory user and group membership reference data
Workflow
- Define Lateral Movement Scope: Identify which lateral movement techniques to hunt (RDP, SMB/Admin Shares, WinRM, PsExec, WMI, DCOM, SSH).
- Query Authentication Events: Use SPL to search for Type 3 (Network) and Type 10 (RemoteInteractive) logons across the environment.
- Build Authentication Graphs: Map source-to-destination authentication relationships to identify unusual connection patterns.
- Detect First-Time Relationships: Identify new source-destination pairs that have not been seen in the historical baseline.
- Correlate with Process Activity: Link authentication events to subsequent process creation on destination hosts.
- Identify Anomalous Patterns: Flag lateral movement to sensitive servers, unusual hours, service account misuse, or rapid multi-host access.
- Report and Contain: Document lateral movement path, affected systems, and coordinate containment response.
Key Concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| T1021 | Remote Services (parent technique) |
| T1021.001 | Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) |
| T1021.002 | SMB/Windows Admin Shares |
| T1021.003 | Distributed COM (DCOM) |
| T1021.004 | SSH |
| T1021.006 | Windows Remote Management (WinRM) |
| T1570 | Lateral Tool Transfer |
| T1047 | Windows Management Instrumentation |
| T1569.002 | Service Execution (PsExec) |
| Logon Type 3 | Network logon (SMB, WinRM, mapped drives) |
| Logon Type 10 | Remote Interactive (RDP) |
| Event ID 4624 | Successful logon |
| Event ID 4648 | Explicit credential logon (runas, PsExec) |
Tools & Systems
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Splunk Enterprise | SIEM for log aggregation and SPL queries |
| Splunk Enterprise Security | Threat detection and notable events |
| Windows Event Forwarding | Centralize Windows logs |
| Sysmon | Detailed process and network telemetry |
| BloodHound | AD attack path analysis |
| PingCastle | AD security assessment |
Common Scenarios
- PsExec Lateral Movement: Adversary uses PsExec to execute commands on remote systems via SMB, generating Type 3 logon with ADMIN$ share access.
- RDP Pivoting: Attacker RDPs to internal systems using stolen credentials, creating Type 10 logon events.
- WMI Remote Execution: Adversary uses WMIC process call create to spawn processes on remote hosts.
- WinRM PowerShell Remoting: Attacker uses Enter-PSSession or Invoke-Command to execute code on remote systems.
- Pass-the-Hash via SMB: Compromised NTLM hashes used to authenticate to remote systems without knowing the plaintext password.
Output Format
Hunt ID: TH-LATMOV-[DATE]-[SEQ]
Movement Type: [RDP/SMB/WinRM/WMI/DCOM/PsExec]
Source Host: [Hostname/IP]
Destination Host: [Hostname/IP]
Account Used: [Username]
Logon Type: [3/10/other]
First Seen: [Timestamp]
Event Count: [Number of events]
Risk Level: [Critical/High/Medium/Low]
Lateral Movement Path: [A -> B -> C -> D]
Frequently asked questions about Detecting Lateral Movement with Splunk
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