Analytics Alerts

Browse the Cortex analytics alert reference.

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4 alerts match the current filters. tactic: TA0008 ✕ technique: T1078 ✕

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  • A user logged in to the AWS console for the first time Informational Cloud 1 variation

    A user logged in to the AWS console for the first time.

    Activation:
    14 Days
    Training:
    30 Days
    Test:
    N/A (single event)
    Deduplication:
    5 Days
    ATT&CK tactics: Initial Access (TA0001) Persistence (TA0003) Lateral Movement (TA0008)
    ATT&CK techniques: Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts (T1078.004) Account Manipulation: Additional Cloud Credentials (T1098.001) Remote Services: Cloud Services (T1021.007)
    Required data: AWS Audit Log
    Attacker's goals: Evading detections by performing direct operations using the AWS console. Performing non-automatic operations easily.
    Investigative actions: Check if the identity is an AWS identity. Investigate which operations were performed by the identity.

    Variations

    A non-user identity logged in to the AWS console for the first time

    Medium overridden

    A non-user identity logged in to the AWS console for the first time. overridden

  • Abnormal User Login to Domain Controller Informational Identity Analytics 4 variations

    A user account has successfully logged on to a Domain Controller (DC), generating a Windows Event Log. This may be a sign of DC and Active Directory (AD) compromise.

    Activation:
    14 Days
    Training:
    30 Days
    Test:
    N/A (single event)
    Deduplication:
    1 Day
    ATT&CK tactics: Lateral Movement (TA0008) Privilege Escalation (TA0004)
    ATT&CK techniques: Valid Accounts (T1078) Use Alternate Authentication Material (T1550)
    Required data: XDR Agent
    Attacker's goals: A malicious user may attempt to access a domain controller to access and control Active Directory.
    Investigative actions: Ensure that the user is not a Domain Admin account. By default, Administrator groups have permission to access the domain controller. Check if the user is a service account that accesses a domain controller as part of its normal behavior. Verify that the user is not authenticating to group policy.

    Variations

    Rare RDP User Login to Domain Controller by an Abnormal Department

    Medium overridden

    A user account has successfully interactively logged on to a Domain Controller (DC), generating a Windows Event Log. This may be a sign of DC and Active Directory (AD) compromise. overridden

    Abnormal RDP User Login to Domain Controller

    Low overridden

    A user account has successfully interactively logged on to a Domain Controller (DC), generating a Windows Event Log. This may be a sign of DC and Active Directory (AD) compromise. overridden

    RDP User Login to Domain Controller

    Informational overridden

    A user account has successfully logged on to a Domain Controller (DC), generating a Windows Event Log. This may be a sign of DC and Active Directory (AD) compromise. overridden

    Abnormal User Login to Domain Controller by an Abnormal Department

    Informational overridden

    A user account has successfully logged on to a Domain Controller (DC), generating a Windows Event Log. This may be a sign of DC and Active Directory (AD) compromise. overridden

  • PKINIT TGT authentication request Informational Identity Analytics 2 variations

    A Kerberos TGT was requested using PKINIT. This may indicate an attack on Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), such as shadow credential exploitation or certificate-based authentication abuse.

    Activation:
    14 Days
    Training:
    30 Days
    Test:
    N/A (single event)
    Deduplication:
    1 Day
    ATT&CK tactics: Lateral Movement (TA0008) Privilege Escalation (TA0004)
    ATT&CK techniques: Use Alternate Authentication Material (T1550) Valid Accounts (T1078)
    Required data: Windows Event Collector XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)
    Detector tags: Active Directory Certificate Services Analytics
    Attacker's goals: Gain unauthorized access to high-privilege accounts by abusing certificate-based authentication mechanisms.
    Investigative actions: Verify if Windows Hello for Business (WHfB) is deployed and actively used in the environment, as it may explain the PKINIT activity. Inspect the Key Credentials attribute of the target account for recent modifications. Review associated service tickets or lateral movement activities tied to the target account. Investigate unusual certificate issuance or PKI activities.

    Variations

    Suspicious PKINIT TGT authentication request

    Medium overridden

    A Kerberos TGT was requested using PKINIT. This may indicate an attack on Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), such as shadow credential exploitation or certificate-based authentication abuse. overridden

    Abnormal PKINIT TGT authentication request

    Low overridden

    A Kerberos TGT was requested using PKINIT. This may indicate an attack on Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), such as shadow credential exploitation or certificate-based authentication abuse. overridden

  • Remote usage of an AWS service token Low Cloud 1 variation

    An AWS service token was used externally of the cloud environment.

    Activation:
    14 Days
    Training:
    30 Days
    Test:
    N/A (single event)
    Deduplication:
    5 Days
    ATT&CK tactics: Credential Access (TA0006) Lateral Movement (TA0008) Initial Access (TA0001)
    ATT&CK techniques: Steal Application Access Token (T1528) Use Alternate Authentication Material: Application Access Token (T1550.001) Unsecured Credentials (T1552) Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts (T1078.004)
    Required data: AWS Audit Log
    Attacker's goals: Exfiltrate a token and abuse it remotely.
    Investigative actions: Check what actions were executed using the access-key. Check if the IAM role was assumed by a different identity.

    Variations

    Suspicious usage of AWS service token

    Medium overridden

    An AWS service token was used externally of the cloud environment. overridden