Agent skill

Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens

by mukul975 in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills

Deploys deception-based honeytokens in Active Directory including fake privileged accounts with AdminCount=1, fake SPNs for Kerberoasting detection (honeyroasting), decoy GPOs with cpassword traps…

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedSecurity

Install Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens

skills CLI
$ npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill deploying-active-directory-honeytokens -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills deploying-active-directory-honeytokens --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens .claude/skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
deploying-active-directory-honeytokens
GitHub stars
34k
Token cost
~2.4k tokens
SKILL.md length
550 words
Files
5 (incl. scripts, references)
Skills in repo
644
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Deploys deception-based honeytokens in Active Directory including fake privileged accounts with AdminCount=1, fake SPNs for Kerberoasting detection (honeyroasting), decoy GPOs with cpassword traps…

  • Works in 6 steps: Deploy Fake Privileged Admin Account → Deploy Fake SPN for Kerberoasting… → Deploy Decoy GPO with Credential Trap → …
  • Implementing AD deception defenses for detecting lateral movement
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use, Prerequisites, Background and Instructions, plus 2 more sections
  • Runs PowerShell and Python scripts from its folder

What it does

Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens is an agent skill from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills. Deploys deception-based honeytokens in Active Directory including fake privileged accounts with AdminCount=1, fake SPNs for Kerberoasting detection (honeyroasting), decoy GPOs with cpassword traps, and fake BloodHound paths. Monitors Windows Security Event IDs 4769, 4625, 4662, 5136 for honeytoken interaction. Use when implementing AD deception defenses for detecting lateral movement, credential theft, and reconnaissance.

Its SKILL.md is about 2.4k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 6 other files, including scripts and reference files (for example `references/api-reference.md` and `scripts/agent.py`).

It sits in Security, covering Red teaming and adversary simulation. The repository describes itself as: 817 structured cybersecurity skills for AI agents · Mapped to 6 frameworks: MITRE ATT&CK, NIST CSF 2.0, MITRE ATLAS, D3FEND, NIST AI RMF & MITRE F3 (Fight Fraud) · agentskills.io…. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Implementing AD deception defenses for detecting lateral movement
  • Credential theft

Example prompts

  • “Use the deploying-active-directory-honeytokens skill to deploy deception-based honeytokens in Active Directory including fake privileged accounts…”
  • “/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens”

Requirements

  • Python 3
  • PowerShell

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Deploy Fake Privileged Admin Account
  2. Deploy Fake SPN for Kerberoasting Detection
  3. Deploy Decoy GPO with Credential Trap
  4. Create Deceptive BloodHound Paths
  5. Configure Detection Rules
  6. Validate Deployment

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 54a7988. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 2 files in scripts/ (PowerShell and Python), which the agent can run.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):

    • adsecurity.org
    • hub.trimarcsecurity.com
    • techcommunity.microsoft.com
    • specterops.io
    • apt29a.blogspot.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens loads about 2.4k tokens when it runs, and up to ~5.4k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 116 tokens; SKILL.md has 550 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~116
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.4k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~5.4k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills at commit 54a7988, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© mukul975). 550 words, ~2,413 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 4 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
deploying-active-directory-honeytokens
description
Deploys deception-based honeytokens in Active Directory including fake privileged accounts with AdminCount=1, fake SPNs for Kerberoasting detection (honeyroasting), decoy GPOs with cpassword traps, and fake BloodHound paths. Monitors Windows Security Event IDs 4769, 4625, 4662, 5136 for honeytoken interaction. Use when implementing AD deception defenses for detecting lateral movement, credential theft, and reconnaissance.
domain
cybersecurity
subdomain
deception-technology
tags
active-directory, honeytokens, kerberoasting, deception, detection, bloodhound, gpo
version
1.0
author
mukul975
license
Apache-2.0
nist_csf
DE.CM-01, DE.AE-06, PR.IR-01
mitre_attack
T1558.003, T1558.004, T1110.003, T1003.006, T1552.006

Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens

When to Use

  • When deploying deception-based detection in Active Directory environments
  • When detecting Kerberoasting attacks via fake SPN honeytokens (honeyroasting)
  • When creating tripwire accounts to detect credential theft and lateral movement
  • When building decoy GPOs to detect Group Policy Preference password harvesting
  • When creating deceptive BloodHound paths to misdirect and detect attackers
  • When supplementing existing AD monitoring with high-fidelity detection signals

Prerequisites

  • Domain Admin or delegated AD administration privileges
  • Active Directory domain (Windows Server 2016+ recommended)
  • Windows Event Log forwarding to SIEM (Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic)
  • PowerShell 5.1+ with ActiveDirectory module
  • Group Policy Management Console (GPMC)
  • Understanding of AD security, Kerberos, and BloodHound attack paths

Background

Why AD Honeytokens

Traditional signature-based detection misses novel attack techniques. Honeytokens provide high-fidelity detection with near-zero false positives because any interaction with a decoy object is inherently suspicious. In Active Directory:

  • Fake privileged accounts detect credential dumping (DCSync, NTDS.dit extraction)
  • Fake SPNs detect Kerberoasting reconnaissance (TGS requests for nonexistent services)
  • Decoy GPOs detect Group Policy Preference password harvesting
  • Fake BloodHound paths mislead attackers using graph-based AD analysis
Key Detection Event IDs
Event IDDescriptionHoneytoken Use
4769Kerberos TGS ticket requestedDetect Kerberoast against honey SPN
4625Failed logon attemptDetect use of fake credentials from decoy GPO
4662Directory service object accessedDetect DACL read on honeytoken user
5136Directory service object modifiedDetect modification of decoy GPO
5137Directory service object createdDetect GPO creation mimicking decoy
4768Kerberos TGT requestedDetect AS-REP roasting of honey account
Making Honeytokens Realistic

Per Trimarc Security research, effective honeytokens must appear legitimate:

  • Age the account: Repurpose old inactive accounts (10-15 year old accounts in similarly aged domains appear authentic)
  • Set AdminCount=1: Flags the account as having elevated AD rights, making it an attractive Kerberoasting target
  • Use realistic naming: Match organizational naming conventions (svc_sqlbackup, admin.maintenance, svc_exchange_legacy)
  • Set old password date: Password age of 10+ years with an SPN looks like a high-value, neglected service account to attackers
  • Add group memberships: Place in visible groups like "Remote Desktop Users" or a custom "Backup Operators" to increase attacker interest
  • Avoid detection tells: Attackers check creation date vs. last logon vs. password change date for consistency
Show full SKILL.md (190 more words)Show less

Instructions

Step 1: Deploy Fake Privileged Admin Account

Create a honeytoken account that mimics a legacy privileged service account.

powershell
# Import the deployment module
Import-Module .\scripts\Deploy-ADHoneytokens.ps1

# Create a honeytoken admin account
$honeyAdmin = New-HoneytokenAdmin `
    -SamAccountName "svc_sqlbackup_legacy" `
    -DisplayName "SQL Backup Service (Legacy)" `
    -Description "Legacy SQL Server backup service account - DO NOT DELETE" `
    -OU "OU=Service Accounts,DC=corp,DC=example,DC=com" `
    -PasswordLength 128 `
    -SetAdminCount $true

Write-Host "Honeytoken admin created: $($honeyAdmin.DistinguishedName)"
Step 2: Deploy Fake SPN for Kerberoasting Detection

Assign a realistic but fake SPN to the honeytoken account. Any TGS request for this SPN is definitively malicious (honeyroasting).

powershell
# Add fake SPN to honeytoken account
$honeySPN = Add-HoneytokenSPN `
    -SamAccountName "svc_sqlbackup_legacy" `
    -ServiceClass "MSSQLSvc" `
    -Hostname "sql-legacy-bak01.corp.example.com" `
    -Port 1433

Write-Host "Honey SPN registered: $($honeySPN.SPN)"
Write-Host "Monitor Event ID 4769 for TGS requests targeting this SPN"
Step 3: Deploy Decoy GPO with Credential Trap

Create a fake GPO in SYSVOL with an embedded cpassword (Group Policy Preference password). Attackers using tools like Get-GPPPassword or gpp-decrypt will find and attempt to use these credentials, triggering detection.

powershell
# Create decoy GPO with cpassword trap
$decoyGPO = New-DecoyGPO `
    -GPOName "Server Maintenance Policy (Legacy)" `
    -DecoyUsername "admin_maintenance" `
    -DecoyDomain "CORP" `
    -SYSVOLPath "\\corp.example.com\SYSVOL\corp.example.com\Policies" `
    -EnableAuditSACL $true

Write-Host "Decoy GPO created: $($decoyGPO.GPOGuid)"
Write-Host "SACL audit enabled - any read attempt will generate Event ID 4663"
Step 4: Create Deceptive BloodHound Paths

Set ACL permissions that create fake attack paths visible to BloodHound/SharpHound reconnaissance, leading attackers toward monitored honeytokens.

powershell
# Create fake BloodHound attack path
$deceptivePath = New-DeceptiveBloodHoundPath `
    -HoneytokenSamAccount "svc_sqlbackup_legacy" `
    -TargetHighValueGroup "Domain Admins" `
    -IntermediateOU "OU=Service Accounts,DC=corp,DC=example,DC=com"

Write-Host "Deceptive path created: $($deceptivePath.PathDescription)"
Step 5: Configure Detection Rules

Set up SIEM detection rules to alert on any honeytoken interaction.

python
# Using the Python detection agent
from agent import ADHoneytokenMonitor

monitor = ADHoneytokenMonitor(config_path="honeytoken_config.json")

# Register all honeytokens for monitoring
monitor.register_honeytoken("svc_sqlbackup_legacy", token_type="admin_account")
monitor.register_honeytoken("MSSQLSvc/sql-legacy-bak01.corp.example.com:1433", token_type="spn")
monitor.register_honeytoken("admin_maintenance", token_type="gpo_credential")

# Generate SIEM detection rules
splunk_rules = monitor.generate_detection_rules(siem="splunk")
sentinel_rules = monitor.generate_detection_rules(siem="sentinel")
sigma_rules = monitor.generate_detection_rules(siem="sigma")

for rule in sigma_rules:
    print(f"Rule: {rule['title']}")
    print(f"  Detection: {rule['detection_logic']}")
Step 6: Validate Deployment

Test the honeytokens to ensure detection fires correctly.

powershell
# Validate honeytoken deployment
$validation = Test-HoneytokenDeployment `
    -SamAccountName "svc_sqlbackup_legacy" `
    -ValidateAdminCount `
    -ValidateSPN `
    -ValidateGPODecoy `
    -ValidateAuditPolicy

$validation | Format-Table Check, Status, Details -AutoSize

Examples

Full Deployment Pipeline
powershell
Import-Module .\scripts\Deploy-ADHoneytokens.ps1

# Deploy complete honeytoken suite
$deployment = Deploy-FullHoneytokenSuite `
    -Environment "Production" `
    -ServiceAccountOU "OU=Service Accounts,DC=corp,DC=example,DC=com" `
    -SYSVOLPath "\\corp.example.com\SYSVOL\corp.example.com\Policies" `
    -TokenCount 3 `
    -IncludeSPN $true `
    -IncludeGPODecoy $true `
    -IncludeBloodHoundPath $true `
    -SIEMType "Splunk"

# Output deployment report
$deployment.Tokens | Format-Table Name, Type, SPN, DetectionRule -AutoSize
$deployment | Export-Csv "honeytoken_deployment_report.csv" -NoTypeInformation
Kerberoasting Detection Query (Splunk)
spl
index=wineventlog EventCode=4769 ServiceName="svc_sqlbackup_legacy"
| eval alert_severity="critical"
| eval alert_type="honeytoken_kerberoast"
| table _time, src_ip, Account_Name, ServiceName, Ticket_Encryption_Type
| sort - _time
Microsoft Sentinel KQL Detection
kql
SecurityEvent
| where EventID == 4769
| where ServiceName in ("svc_sqlbackup_legacy", "svc_exchange_legacy")
| extend AlertType = "Honeytoken Kerberoast Detected"
| project TimeGenerated, Computer, Account, ServiceName, IpAddress, TicketEncryptionType

References

© mukul975, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 4 other files (scripts, references) in skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens of mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • LICENSE
  • references/api-reference.md
  • scripts/Deploy-ADHoneytokens.ps1
  • scripts/agent.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 54a7988

Compare with similar skills

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Categories

Questions about Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens

What does Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens do?

Deploys deception-based honeytokens in Active Directory including fake privileged accounts with AdminCount=1, fake SPNs for Kerberoasting detection (honeyroasting), decoy GPOs with cpassword traps…. Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens is an agent skill from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills. Deploys deception-based honeytokens in Active Directory including fake privileged accounts with AdminCount=1, fake SPNs for Kerberoasting detection (honeyroasting), decoy GPOs with cpassword traps, and fake BloodHound paths.

When should I use Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens?

Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens fits situations like: implementing AD deception defenses for detecting lateral movement; credential theft.

How do I install Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill deploying-active-directory-honeytokens -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills) into .claude/skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens in Codex?

Run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill deploying-active-directory-honeytokens -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills) into .agents/skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill deploying-active-directory-honeytokens -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens, .gemini/skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens, .github/skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens and .opencode/skills/deploying-active-directory-honeytokens in your project.

What does Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens needs PowerShell and Python for the scripts in its folder. Our summary lists: Python 3; PowerShell.

Does Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens access the network?

SKILL.md names 5 domains. As links in the text: adsecurity.org, hub.trimarcsecurity.com, techcommunity.microsoft.com, specterops.io and apt29a.blogspot.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens use?

Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens use?

About 2.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 9.7k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 3k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens: Authorization Bypass Detection (Tencent/AI-Infra-Guard, 6.8k stars), Run Assert Eval (responsibleai/ASSERT, 330 stars), Osint Methodology (elementalsouls/Claude-OSINT, 2.8k stars) and Lfd Design (elvisun/loss-function-development, 176 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Deploying Active Directory Honeytokens?

mukul975 (a GitHub user) maintains it in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills, which has 34,116 GitHub stars. The repository holds 644 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 31, 2026.

Source: mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.