splunk_escuHunting

Unusual Number of Computer Service Tickets Requested

The following analytic identifies an unusual number of computer service ticket requests from a single source, leveraging Event ID 4769, "A Kerberos service ticket was requested." It uses statistical analysis, including standard deviation and the 3-sigma rule, to detect anomalies in service ticket requests. This activity is significant as it may indicate malicious behavior such as lateral movement, malware staging, or reconnaissance. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could gain unauthorized access to multiple endpoints, facilitating further compromise and potential data exfiltration.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1078

Detection Query

`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4769 Service_Name="*$" Account_Name!="*$*"
  | bucket span=2m _time
  | stats dc(Service_Name) AS unique_targets values(Service_Name) as host_targets
    BY _time, Client_Address, Account_Name
  | eventstats avg(unique_targets) as comp_avg , stdev(unique_targets) as comp_std
    BY Client_Address, Account_Name
  | eval upperBound=(comp_avg+comp_std*3)
  | eval isOutlier=if(unique_targets >10 and unique_targets >= upperBound, 1, 0)
  | `unusual_number_of_computer_service_tickets_requested_filter`

Author

Mauricio Velazco, Splunk

Created

2026-02-25

Data Sources

Windows Event Log Security 4769

References

https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/

Tags

Active Directory Lateral MovementActive Directory Kerberos AttacksActive Directory Privilege EscalationScattered Lapsus$ Hunters

Raw Content

name: Unusual Number of Computer Service Tickets Requested
id: ac3b81c0-52f4-11ec-ac44-acde48001122
version: 8
date: '2026-02-25'
author: Mauricio Velazco, Splunk
status: experimental
type: Hunting
description: The following analytic identifies an unusual number of computer service ticket requests from a single source, leveraging Event ID 4769, "A Kerberos service ticket was requested." It uses statistical analysis, including standard deviation and the 3-sigma rule, to detect anomalies in service ticket requests. This activity is significant as it may indicate malicious behavior such as lateral movement, malware staging, or reconnaissance. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could gain unauthorized access to multiple endpoints, facilitating further compromise and potential data exfiltration.
data_source:
    - Windows Event Log Security 4769
search: |-
    `wineventlog_security` EventCode=4769 Service_Name="*$" Account_Name!="*$*"
      | bucket span=2m _time
      | stats dc(Service_Name) AS unique_targets values(Service_Name) as host_targets
        BY _time, Client_Address, Account_Name
      | eventstats avg(unique_targets) as comp_avg , stdev(unique_targets) as comp_std
        BY Client_Address, Account_Name
      | eval upperBound=(comp_avg+comp_std*3)
      | eval isOutlier=if(unique_targets >10 and unique_targets >= upperBound, 1, 0)
      | `unusual_number_of_computer_service_tickets_requested_filter`
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting Domain Controller and Kerberos events. The Advanced Security Audit policy setting `Audit Kerberos Authentication Service` within `Account Logon` needs to be enabled.
known_false_positives: An single endpoint requesting a large number of computer service tickets is not common behavior. Possible false positive scenarios include but are not limited to vulnerability scanners, administration systeams and missconfigured systems.
references:
    - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - Active Directory Lateral Movement
        - Active Directory Kerberos Attacks
        - Active Directory Privilege Escalation
        - Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters
    asset_type: Endpoint
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1078
    product:
        - Splunk Enterprise
        - Splunk Enterprise Security
        - Splunk Cloud
    security_domain: endpoint