If LSA Protection had been enabled, that post-exploitation step would have failed. The attacker would have seen an "Access Denied" error instead of a domain admin hash.
local-security-authority-protection-guide
Is it a silver bullet? No. But security is about layers. LSA Protection is a cheap, effective layer that costs almost nothing in performance or compatibility.
If not, you just found a five-minute fix that could save your domain. Have you run into compatibility issues after enabling LSA Protection? Let me know in the comments below.
That is exactly what malware like does. It tricks the LSA into handing over the crown jewels: your plain-text passwords, NTLM hashes, and Kerberos tickets.
Think of the LSA as the security guard at the door of a top-secret vault. Its job is to verify your identity, issue entry tickets (access tokens), and manage who gets in and out. But what happens if an attacker can impersonate that guard?
