If you’re a Windows user, it’s important to know how to defend your machine against privilege escalation attacks. Last month, Microsoft released a tool that makes it easier for attackers to gain System privileges on Windows machines. In this blog post, we will tell you how to protect yourself from automated “Kerberos Relay” attacks.

Privilege Escalation Attacks

A privilege escalation attack occurs when a bug in a program is taken advantage of by an attacker to gain higher access to the system. The attacker typically first obtains low-level access to the machine before using a variety of methods to enhance their privileges until they have full control of it.

As attackers discover that Windows vulnerabilities are easier to exploit, these types of attacks are on the rise. Microsoft discovered a Kerberos Relay attack in April, which enables an attacker to take System rights on a Windows computer without requiring any user credentials.

Kerberos Relay attacks

An example of a Kerberos Relay attack is when an intruder compromises a computer and then transmits Kerberos messages to other machines on the same network. The attacker relays Kerberos messages between the user’s system and a server that they control. In doing so, the attacker can impersonate the user and access resources that they would not normally have access to, such as other people’s computers.

What happens if I am a victim of a Kerberos Relay attack?

There are several things that you can do to protect yourself from Kerberos Relay attacks:

●     Use a strong password for your Kerberos account

●     Use two-factor authentication for your Kerberos account

●     Do not allow untrusted users to log into your machine

●     Keep your machine up to date with the latest security patches

If you follow these steps, you will be better protected from Kerberos Relay attacks. However, if you think that you may have been a victim of this type of attack, you should contact your IT department or security team immediately.

Microsoft’s Kerberos Relay tool

Microsoft has issued a security update to fix this problem. We recommend that you install this update as soon as possible if you’re using Windows. Microsoft’s Kerberos Relay tool makes it simple for attackers to carry out these types of attacks. The tool may be utilized to forward Kerberos messages from a user’s machine to a server controlled by the attacker. This allows the attacker to impersonate the user and access resources that they would not otherwise have access to.