Tutorial / Cram Notes
When preparing for the SC-200 Microsoft Security Operations Analyst exam, understanding how to configure advanced visualizations is fundamental in mastering the tools and platforms like Microsoft Azure Sentinel and Microsoft 365 Defender.
Visualizations in Azure Sentinel
Azure Sentinel offers a powerful set of visualization tools through its integrated dashboards, which can be extensively customized to meet the needs of security operations analysts. By utilizing Kusto Query Language (KQL), you can craft complex queries to retrieve the precise data you need.
Workbooks
Workbooks in Azure Sentinel provide a method to create custom dashboards that can include charts, graphs, and tables. Here’s how to set up complex visualizations using Workbooks:
- Access Azure Sentinel Workbooks:
- Navigate to the Azure Sentinel console.
- Choose ‘Workbooks’ from the navigation pane.
- Create a New Workbook or Modify an Existing One:
- To create a new workbook, click ‘+ New Workbook’.
- To edit an existing workbook, select the workbook and click ‘Edit’.
- Add Queries and Visualizations:
- Utilize the editing pane to insert KQL queries.
- Select the visualization type (e.g., pie chart, time chart, or bar graph) to represent your data.
- Adjust properties like time range, chart titles, and filtering options.
- Interactive Features:
- Incorporate interactive elements such as drop-downs or date pickers to make dashboards dynamic.
- Use parameters within your KQL queries to respond to user inputs.
- Pin Visualizations to Azure Sentinel Dashboards:
- Once configured, visualizations can be pinned to Azure Sentinel dashboards for easy access and monitoring.
Advanced KQL for Custom Visualizations
To create more advanced visualizations, you must delve deeper into KQL. Here are a couple of examples:
- Time Series Analysis: Use
make-seriesoperator to create timecharts that showcase trends and patterns over time. - Joins and Aggregates: Combine multiple data sources with
joinand apply aggregate functions such assumorcountto summarize data.
Microsoft 365 Defender Advanced Hunting
Advanced hunting in Microsoft 365 Defender allows analysts to hunt for threats across data from Microsoft 365 services. You can build advanced visualizations by writing queries in KQL and using the visualization options available in the Advanced Hunting interface.
Creating Visualizations in Advanced Hunting
- Write a KQL Query:
- Use the built-in query editor to write a KQL query for the data you need to visualize.
- Select the Visualization Type:
- After running the query, you can choose from various visualizations, such as a column chart, line chart, or table.
- Customize Your Visualization:
- Adjust settings like axis values, labels, and filters to ensure clarity and relevance of the data.
- Save and Share Queries and Visualizations:
- Save your queries and visualizations for repeated use or share them with team members for collaborative threat hunting.
Comparison: Azure Sentinel vs. Microsoft 365 Defender Visualizations
| Feature | Azure Sentinel Workbooks | Microsoft 365 Defender Advanced Hunting |
|---|---|---|
| Integration | Azure and third-party data | Microsoft 365 ecosystem data |
| Customization | High flexibility with KQL | Limited customization options |
| Interactivity | Interactive elements | Basic interactivity with queries |
| Sharing | Share dashboards | Share queries and results |
| Use Case | Broader security monitoring | Targeted threat hunting |
| Visualization Options | Broader range of charts and graphs | Standard set of visualizations |
Conclusion
Configuring advanced visualizations in tools like Azure Sentinel and Microsoft 365 Defender is essential for effective security analysis and operational visibility. By mastering the creation and customization of these visualizations, candidates preparing for the SC-200 exam will significantly enhance their ability to detect, investigate, and respond to threats within their organization’s infrastructure. Whether it’s through granular data manipulation using KQL in Azure Sentinel or the targeted threat hunting capabilities in Microsoft 365 Defender, deep knowledge of these visualization techniques is a valuable asset for any security operations analyst.
Practice Test with Explanation
T/F: In Microsoft Sentinel, you can create a 3D map to visualize and analyze geospatial data.
- Answer: True
Explanation: Microsoft Sentinel offers the capability to create a variety of visualizations, including 3D maps, to enhance the analysis of geospatial data and provide better insights into security events.
T/F: Kusto Query Language (KQL) is not necessary for configuring advanced visualizations in Microsoft Sentinel dashboards.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Kusto Query Language (KQL) is essential for configuring advanced visualizations in Microsoft Sentinel as it is the language used to query and manipulate data for the visualizations.
In Microsoft Sentinel, which visualization would be best for displaying high-volume, time-series data?
- A) Pie chart
- B) Line chart
- C) 3D map
- D) Heatmap
Answer: B) Line chart
Explanation: A line chart is the most appropriate visualization for displaying high-volume, time-series data as it helps in identifying trends over time.
Which of the following are available visualization types in Azure Monitor Workbooks? (Select all that apply)
- A) Time chart
- B) Honeycomb
- C) Tiles
- D) Sankey diagram
Answer: A) Time chart, C) Tiles
Explanation: Azure Monitor Workbooks support various visualization types including time charts and tiles, but it does not support honeycomb and Sankey diagrams.
To visualize data by geographic location in Microsoft Sentinel, what should you include in your KQL query?
- A) A join operator
- B) A geo-lookup function
- C) A summarize operator
- D) A top-nested function
Answer: B) A geo-lookup function
Explanation: To visualize data by geographic location, a geo-lookup function is used in KQL to map IP addresses to geographical locations.
T/F: Azure Monitor can be used to create complex interactive dashboards for monitoring security data.
- Answer: True
Explanation: Azure Monitor provides features to create complex and interactive dashboards that can help monitor security data efficiently.
T/F: Bookmarks can be used in Microsoft Sentinel to save and share KQL queries used in visualizations.
- Answer: True
Explanation: Bookmarks in Microsoft Sentinel allow you to save and share KQL queries, which can be useful for reusing them in visualizations.
When configuring a time-series visualization, which feature can be used to compare the current data with historical data?
- A) Binning
- B) Time Brushing
- C) Time Shifting
- D) Split By Dimensions
Answer: C) Time Shifting
Explanation: Time Shifting is a feature that allows comparing the current data with historical data by shifting the time window for analysis.
T/F: You can create visualizations in Microsoft Sentinel without any data connectors configured.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Data connectors are required to ingest data into Microsoft Sentinel. Without these connectors, there would be no data to visualize.
What visualization should you use in Azure Monitor if you want to compare the distribution of values in different categories?
- A) Pie chart
- B) Scatter chart
- C) Bar chart
- D) Area chart
Answer: C) Bar chart
Explanation: A bar chart is suitable for comparing the distribution of values across different categories.
T/F: In Microsoft Sentinel, you can use the workbook templates provided by Microsoft as a starting point for advanced visualizations.
- Answer: True
Explanation: Microsoft Sentinel provides workbook templates that can serve as a starting point for creating advanced visualizations, which users can tailor to their specific needs.
Which feature should you use in an Azure Monitor Workbook to dynamically update visualizations based on user input?
- A) Conditional Access
- B) Parameter Inputs
- C) Azure Functions
- D) Logic Apps
Answer: B) Parameter Inputs
Explanation: Parameter Inputs in Azure Monitor Workbooks allow users to provide input that dynamically changes the visualizations and displayed data.
Interview Questions
What is Azure Sentinel?
Azure Sentinel is a cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) solution.
What is the purpose of advanced visualizations in Azure Sentinel?
Advanced visualizations enable you to visualize your data in customized ways that can help identify trends, anomalies, and other insights.
What is the Azure Sentinel Workbook?
The Azure Sentinel Workbook is a canvas that you can use to visualize and interact with your Azure Sentinel data.
What is the Query language used in Azure Sentinel?
Azure Sentinel uses the Kusto query language.
What is the purpose of Azure Monitor?
Azure Monitor is a platform for collecting, analyzing, and acting on telemetry data from your cloud and on-premises environments.
What is Azure Monitor Logs?
Azure Monitor Logs is a service that you can use to collect and analyze data from a variety of sources.
What is the Log Analytics workspace in Azure Sentinel?
The Log Analytics workspace is a unique environment in Azure that you use to store data collected from various sources, such as virtual machines and applications.
How do you create a new workbook in Azure Sentinel?
You can create a new workbook by selecting the Workbooks option from the Azure Sentinel left navigation menu and then clicking the New button.
What is a query-based visualization in Azure Sentinel?
A query-based visualization in Azure Sentinel is a custom visualization that displays data based on a specific query.
What are some of the visualizations that can be created in Azure Sentinel Workbooks?
Some examples of visualizations that can be created in Azure Sentinel Workbooks include bar charts, line charts, heatmaps, and data tables.
Does anyone have tips for configuring advanced visualizations in Sentinel? I’m preparing for the SC-200 exam.
Great blog post, very helpful for my exam prep!
I had issues with configuring custom workbooks, any advice?
Understanding the Chart Types in Sentinel can really enhance your visualizations. Anyone agrees?
This blog post was just okay, it could use more examples.
Has anyone tried creating custom anomaly detection rules? Any tips?
What resources are you all using to learn KQL efficiently?
Does anyone know if there’s a way to embed visualizations from Sentinel into a SharePoint site?