Tutorial / Cram Notes
Microsoft Sentinel is a cloud-native Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution that provides intelligent security analytics for your entire enterprise. One powerful feature of Microsoft Sentinel is workbooks, which allow users to create interactive dashboards and visualizations. Sentinel comes with a variety of built-in workbook templates, which you can use as a starting point for customizing your own security dashboards.
Activating Workbook Templates in Microsoft Sentinel
To activate a Microsoft Sentinel workbook from a template, follow these steps:
- Navigate to the Microsoft Sentinel dashboard in the Azure portal.
- In the navigation pane, click on ‘Workbooks’ within the ‘Threat management’ section.
- Select the ‘Templates’ tab to see the available workbook templates.
- Browse through the list of templates or use the search box to find a specific workbook.
- Click on the desired workbook template to view its details.
- To use the template, click on ‘Save as’, which will allow you to create a new workbook based on the selected template.
- Provide a name for your new workbook and save it to your desired workspace.
Customizing Workbook Templates
Once you have created a new workbook from a template, you can customize it to meet your specific needs. Here are some general steps for customizing workbook templates:
- Open the workbook you just created in the editing mode.
- Each workbook consists of various components, such as charts, tables, and text blocks. You can click on any of these components to edit them.
- To edit a component, look for the pencil icon or the “Edit” option, which allows you to change the settings and configuration of that component.
- Adjust queries, visualizations, and parameters as needed. You can write your own Kusto Query Language (KQL) queries or modify existing ones to change the data being displayed.
- You can also add new components by clicking on the ‘+’ button and selecting the type of component you wish to add, such as a chart, grid, or markdown text.
Examples of Customization
- Editing a Chart Component: Suppose you have a line chart displaying sign-in logs over time, but you want to see failed sign-in attempts only. You would edit the KQL query for the chart to filter for failed logins.
- Adding a New Parameter: If you’d like to filter dashboard data based on the selected time range, you can add a time range parameter that users can adjust.
- Changing Display Settings: You can also change display settings like colors, axis titles, or time formats to make the visualizations more intuitive and aligned with your organization’s standards.
Visual Comparisons
| Component | Original Template | Customized Version |
|---|---|---|
| KQL Query | SigninLogs | where ResultType == 0 |
SigninLogs | where ResultType != 0 |
| Chart Type | Line Chart | Bar Chart |
| Time Parameter | Last 24 hours | User-selectable range |
This table shows how a simple component’s properties were altered to suit specific monitoring needs.
Saving and Sharing Customized Workbooks
After customizing your workbook, ensure to save your changes. Microsoft Sentinel allows you to share your workbooks with other team members.
- Click ‘Save’ after making all your customizations.
- If you want to share the workbook, click on ‘Share’ and select the appropriate sharing options, such as sharing with all users or specific roles within your Azure environment.
Best Practices for Customizing Workbook Templates
- Start with a clear objective of what you want to achieve with your workbook.
- Keep the end-user in mind. Make sure the visualizations and data are easily understandable.
- Use KQL efficiently — know when to use filters and where to apply them to improve performance.
- Test your customizations with real data to ensure accuracy and relevance.
- Keep the workbook organized; too much information on one dashboard can become overwhelming.
By leveraging Microsoft Sentinel workbook templates and customizing them according to your organization’s needs, you can gain valuable insights into your security posture and streamline your security operations workflow.
Practice Test with Explanation
1) True or False: Microsoft Sentinel Workbooks are used for data visualization and can be customized to create interactive dashboards.
- Answer: True
Explanation: Microsoft Sentinel provides built-in workbooks for data visualization, which can be customized to suit specific needs, offering interactive dashboards to analyze and display data.
2) In Microsoft Sentinel, which of the following can be done with workbook templates? (Select all that apply)
- a) View them
- b) Clone them
- c) Delete the built-in templates
- d) Customize them
Answer: a) View them, b) Clone them, d) Customize them
Explanation: Users can view, clone, and customize workbook templates in Microsoft Sentinel. Built-in templates cannot be deleted as they are provided by Microsoft.
3) True or False: Once a workbook has been customized in Microsoft Sentinel, the original version of the workbook is lost and cannot be restored.
- Answer: False
Explanation: In Microsoft Sentinel, when you customize a workbook, the original template remains unchanged. Users can revert to the original template or save the customization as a new workbook.
4) To customize a Microsoft Sentinel workbook, you must first:
- a) Fork the GitHub repository
- b) Create a new workbook from scratch
- c) Clone or open an existing workbook template
- d) Submit a request to Microsoft Support
Answer: c) Clone or open an existing workbook template
Explanation: Customizing a workbook in Microsoft Sentinel typically involves cloning an existing template or opening a workbook to modify it to your specifications.
5) True or False: Workbooks in Microsoft Sentinel can automatically collect data from any source without additional configuration.
- Answer: False
Explanation: While Microsoft Sentinel workbooks can visualize data, data collection often requires configuration such as setting up data connectors to specific sources to ensure the logs are available for visualization.
6) Which of the following is NOT a feature of Microsoft Sentinel workbooks?
- a) Interactive data visualizations
- b) Real-time collaboration on dashboards
- c) Built-in AI to predict future threats
- d) Usage of KQL (Kusto Query Language) for data analysis
Answer: c) Built-in AI to predict future threats
Explanation: Microsoft Sentinel workbooks feature interactive data visualizations and use KQL for data analysis. Real-time collaboration on dashboards is also possible. However, predicting future threats requires more than just workbook features and would typically involve analytics rules or machine learning models.
7) True or False: Workbooks in Microsoft Sentinel are accessible by all users within an organization by default.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Access to workbooks in Microsoft Sentinel can be managed and controlled. Permissions can be granted based on user roles, so not all users may have access by default.
8) Which format is used for Microsoft Sentinel workbook templates?
- a) YAML
- b) JSON
- c) XML
- d) HTML
Answer: b) JSON
Explanation: Microsoft Sentinel workbook templates are defined using JSON (JavaScript Object Notation).
9) What is the purpose of parameters in Microsoft Sentinel workbooks?
- a) To hardcode the only relevant data
- b) To allow users to input or select data filters
- c) To serve as placeholders for future updates
- d) To define the visual theme of the workbook
Answer: b) To allow users to input or select data filters
Explanation: Parameters in Microsoft Sentinel workbooks are used to allow users to input or select data filters, which can customize the view and analysis presented by the workbook.
10) True or False: Each Microsoft Sentinel workbook can only be linked to one single data source at a time.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Microsoft Sentinel workbooks can integrate and visualize data from multiple data sources, not limited to a single one at a time.
11) In Microsoft Sentinel, how can you share a customized workbook with other members of your team?
- a) By exporting it to a PDF file
- b) By assigning roles in Azure Active Directory
- c) By using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates
- d) Through email as a hyperlink
Answer: c) By using Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates
Explanation: Customized workbooks in Microsoft Sentinel can be shared with team members through ARM templates that allow others to deploy the workbook in their own environments.
12) True or False: After customizing a Microsoft Sentinel workbook template, it is mandatory to share the modifications with Microsoft or the community.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Users are not required to share their customized workbook templates with Microsoft or the community. Sharing is an option for collaboration, but it is not mandatory.
Interview Questions
What are workbooks in Microsoft Sentinel?
Workbooks in Microsoft Sentinel are customizable visualizations of data that can be used to monitor and analyze security-related data.
What is a workbook template?
A workbook template is a pre-built workbook that can be used as a starting point for creating a custom workbook.
What types of data can be visualized in a workbook?
Workbooks can visualize data from various sources, including logs, alerts, incidents, and external data sources.
How can you access the built-in workbooks in Microsoft Sentinel?
You can access the built-in workbooks in Microsoft Sentinel by clicking on the “Workbooks” menu in the navigation pane and selecting “All Workbooks.”
What are some of the built-in workbook templates in Microsoft Sentinel?
Some of the built-in workbook templates in Microsoft Sentinel include the “Overview,” “Incidents,” “Threat Hunting,” “Adaptive Application Control,” and “Office 365” workbooks.
Can you customize a built-in workbook in Microsoft Sentinel?
Yes, you can customize a built-in workbook in Microsoft Sentinel by clicking on the “Edit” button at the top of the workbook and modifying the visuals, queries, and other settings.
How can you create a new workbook in Microsoft Sentinel?
To create a new workbook in Microsoft Sentinel, click on the “New Workbook” button in the “Workbooks” menu and select either a blank workbook or a template to start with.
How can you add a query to a workbook in Microsoft Sentinel?
To add a query to a workbook in Microsoft Sentinel, click on the “New” button in the “Visualizations” pane, select “Query,” and then write a Kusto query to retrieve the data you want to visualize.
How can you share a workbook in Microsoft Sentinel?
To share a workbook in Microsoft Sentinel, click on the “Share” button at the top of the workbook, select the audience you want to share the workbook with, and specify the permissions you want to grant.
Can you export a workbook from Microsoft Sentinel?
Yes, you can export a workbook from Microsoft Sentinel by clicking on the “Export” button at the top of the workbook and selecting the format you want to export it in, such as a PDF, Excel, or Power BI file.
This blog post on activating Microsoft Sentinel workbook templates is quite detailed.
Very informative. Could someone explain how to import a custom workbook into Microsoft Sentinel?
How can I customize a workbook to include additional metrics from my Azure environment?
Thanks for sharing the detailed steps!
Appreciating the effort in making these workbooks easily accessible. It’s really helpful for my SC-200 preparation.
For some reason, my custom workbook isn’t displaying data correctly. Any ideas?
Is there a way to share custom workbooks with my entire security team?
The part about using KQL for customizing workbooks is gold. KQL knowledge is so vital for Sentinel.