Windows Security Monitoring

Dig deep into the Windows auditing subsystem to monitor for malicious activities and enhance Windows system security

Written by a former Microsoft security program manager, DEFCON “Forensics CTF” village author and organizer, and CISSP, this book digs deep into the Windows security auditing subsystem to help you understand the operating system′s event logging patterns for operations and changes performed within the system. Expert guidance brings you up to speed on Windows auditing, logging, and event systems to help you exploit the full capabilities of these powerful components. Scenario–based instruction provides clear illustration of how these events unfold in the real world. From security monitoring and event patterns to deep technical details about the Windows auditing subsystem and components, this book provides detailed information on security events generated by the operating system for many common operations such as user account authentication, Active Directory object modifications, local security policy changes, and other activities.

This book is based on the author′s experience and the results of his research into Microsoft Windows security monitoring and anomaly detection. It presents the most common scenarios people should be aware of to check for any potentially suspicious activity.

Learn to:

• Implement the Security Logging and Monitoring policy
• Dig into the Windows security auditing subsystem
• Understand the most common monitoring event patterns related to operations and changes in the Microsoft Windows operating system

Table of Contents

Part I Introduction to Windows Security Monitoring

Chapter 1 Windows Security Logging and Monitoring Policy

Part II Windows Auditing Subsystem

Chapter 2 Auditing Subsystem Architecture

Chapter 3 Auditing Subcategories and Recommendations

Part III Security Monitoring Scenarios

Chapter 4 Account Logon

Chapter 5 Local User Accounts

Chapter 6 Local Security Groups

Chapter 7 Microsoft Active Directory

Chapter 8 Active Directory Objects

Chapter 9 Authentication Protocols

Chapter 10 Operating System Events

Chapter 11 Logon Rights and User Privileges

Chapter 12 Windows Applications

Chapter 13 Filesystem and Removable Storage

Chapter 14 Windows Registry

Chapter 15 Network File Shares and Named Pipes

Appendix A Kerberos AS_REQ, TGS_REQ, and AP_REQ Messages Ticket Options

Appendix B Kerberos AS_REQ, TGS_REQ, and AP_REQ Messages Result Codes

Appendix C SDDL Access Rights

About the Author

Andrei Miroshnikov is a former security program manager with Microsoft. He is an organizer and author for the DEFCON security conference “Forensics CTF” village and has been a speaker at Microsoft′s Bluehat security conference. In addition, Andrei is an author of the “Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 Security Auditing and Monitoring Reference” and multiple internal Microsoft security training documents. Among his many professional qualifications, he has earned the (ISC)2 CISSP and Microsoft MCSE: Security certifications.