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Splunk has removed two Windows discovery analytics from its Threat Research content library and replaced them with updated detections for attacker use of built-in net commands to enumerate users and groups. The deprecated rules, Local Account Discovery with Net and Net Localgroup Discovery, identified execution of net.exe or net1.exe with arguments such as user, users, and localgroup, activity commonly used to list local accounts and group memberships on compromised hosts.
The changes align with well-documented adversary behavior in MITRE ATT&CK techniques T1087.001 and T1069.001, where threat actors use commands like net user, net user /domain, and net localgroup administrators to gather account and privilege information that can support privilege escalation and lateral movement. Splunk said the removed analytics were deprecated in version 5.2.0 in favor of Windows User Discovery Via Net and Windows Group Discovery Via Net, with the original detections having relied on EDR process telemetry, Sysmon Event ID 1, Windows Security Event ID 4688, and related endpoint data sources.
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Splunk Threat Research removed the detection 'Local Account Discovery with Net' from its content library, stating it had been renamed and its logic updated. Splunk identified 'Windows User Discovery Via Net' as the replacement analytic.
Splunk removed the hunting detection 'Net Localgroup Discovery' from its Threat Research content library and said it is no longer maintained or supported. Splunk deprecated it in favor of the replacement analytic 'Windows Group Discovery Via Net.'
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Splunk removed several Windows-focused detections from its Threat Research content library and Enterprise Security workflows, citing renamed analytics, overly broad logic, excessive noise, or reduced effectiveness against current attacker tradecraft. The retired content covered **local administrator account creation** with `net.exe`, **domain and local account discovery**, **domain and privileged group enumeration**, **Excel spawning PowerShell**, **Mimikatz-related credential dumping**, and an **Investigation** for pass-the-hash activity based on Windows Event ID `4624` with `Logon_Type 9`. Splunk said most of the detections were removed in content library version `5.2.0`, while the pass-the-hash investigation was dropped because Enterprise Security `8.0` no longer supports Investigations. The affected detections mapped to common ATT&CK behaviors including `T1136.001` (local account creation), `T1087.001` and `T1087.002` (account discovery), `T1069.002` (domain group discovery), `T1003.001` (LSASS memory), and pass-the-hash activity involving dumped **NTLM** credentials. The changes reflect the difficulty of reliably detecting Windows credential access and reconnaissance techniques that remain widely used by threat actors, including **SAM** hive dumping (`T1003.002`) with tools such as **Mimikatz**, **Impacket/SecretsDump**, **CrackMapExec**, and **Cobalt Strike**, as documented by MITRE ATT&CK. Splunk directed users to newer replacements such as **Windows Create Local Administrator Account Via Net**, **Windows User Discovery Via Net**, **Windows Group Discovery Via Net**, **Windows Sensitive Group Discovery With Net**, and **Windows Office Product Spawned Uncommon Process**.
Aug 12, 2026
Splunk has removed its deprecated **"Network Connection Discovery With Net"** analytic and replaced it with **"Windows Network Connection Discovery Via Net"**, updating the detection logic for suspicious use of `net.exe` and `net1.exe` on Windows systems. The analytic is designed to surface command-line activity associated with **MITRE ATT&CK `T1049`**, which covers adversary reconnaissance of active network connections, open ports, sessions, and reachable resources after initial compromise. MITRE documents `T1049` as a common post-compromise behavior used by APT groups, ransomware operators, and malware families to map local network connectivity through utilities such as `netstat`, `net use`, and `net session`, as well as Windows networking APIs. Splunk said the detection relies on telemetry including **Sysmon Event ID 1**, **Windows Security Event ID 4688**, and **CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2** normalized into the Splunk Endpoint data model, and noted that while the activity can indicate reconnaissance supporting lateral movement or data exfiltration, administrators may also trigger it during legitimate troubleshooting.
Aug 12, 2026
Splunk Threat Research has removed several endpoint analytics from its Security Content library, retiring detections for `chcp.com` execution, account discovery with the Windows `net` utility, and execution of files padded with spaces before the extension. Splunk said the `CHCP Command Execution` analytic was deprecated because `chcp.com` alone is not inherently malicious, while `Account Discovery With Net App` was withdrawn due to overlap with other detections and replaced by **Windows Excessive Usage Of Net App**. The filename-obfuscation analytic was also removed and superseded by **Execution of File with Multiple Extensions**. The retired rules had mapped to MITRE ATT&CK techniques **T1087.002** for domain account discovery and **T1036.003** for masquerading through renamed or disguised utilities. Those ATT&CK entries describe common adversary tradecraft including use of `net user /domain`, `net group "Domain Admins" /domain`, PowerShell AD cmdlets, and tools such as AdFind and BloodHound to enumerate domain accounts, as well as renaming or disguising legitimate binaries like `rundll32.exe`, `mshta.exe`, `cmd.exe`, and `wscript.exe` to evade detection. Splunk noted the removed analytics depended on endpoint process telemetry such as EDR and Sysmon data, were disabled by default, and could generate false positives from legitimate administrative activity.
Aug 12, 2026