Tutorial / Cram Notes
Creating custom workbooks is an essential skill for professionals preparing for the SC-200 Microsoft Security Operations Analyst exam, as it allows them to tailor their security monitoring and analytics to meet specific organizational needs. Microsoft Azure Sentinel provides a range of tools and features that facilitate the construction of custom workbooks, enabling analysts to visualize, analyze, and share security insights derived from their data.
Understanding Workbooks in Azure Sentinel
Workbooks in Azure Sentinel are interactive dashboards that provide rich visualizations and enable deep analysis. They aggregate data from different sources, such as Azure AD, Microsoft 365 Defender, Azure Defender, and third-party solutions. The flexibility of workbooks allows security analysts to create personalized overviews of their security posture.
Getting Started with Custom Workbooks
To create a custom workbook in Azure Sentinel, navigate to the Azure Sentinel instance within the Azure Portal. From there, go to the “Workbooks” section. You will find options to create a new workbook from scratch or use one of the existing templates as a starting point.
Building a Custom Workbook: Step by Step
Step 1: Open a New Workbook
- Click on “Add workbook” to start with a blank canvas.
Step 2: Add Queries
- Use the Kusto Query Language (KQL) to create queries that collect data. For example, to gather sign-in log data, you might use
SigninLogs | where TimeGenerated > ago(1d). - Be mindful of the scope of your data collection to ensure it is relevant to your security analysis needs.
Step 3: Add Visualizations
- Choose from various visualizations like charts, graphs, and lists to represent your data effectively.
- For example, to visualize failed sign-in attempts, you might create a bar chart using the data from your SigninLogs query.
Step 4: Customize the Layout
- Organize your visualizations into a coherent layout that tells a story or follows the flow of an investigation.
Step 5: Apply Filters
- Use dynamic filters to make your workbook interactive, allowing users to drill down into specific date ranges, users, or activities.
Step 6: Save and Share
- Once your workbook is complete, save it for personal use or share it with your team for collaborative analysis.
Example Workbook: Security Alert Analysis
Let’s consider a simple example workbook that analyzes security alerts over the past 30 days:
Query Example:
SecurityAlert
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d)
| summarize AlertCount = count() by AlertSeverity
| order by AlertSeverity asc
Visualization Example:
- A pie chart categorizing alerts by their severity level (High, Medium, Low).
Layout Example:
- An interactive pie chart on top followed by a detailed alert list below, filtered based on the selected severity from the pie chart.
Comparing Workbook Interfaces: Azure Sentinel vs. Excel
| Feature | Azure Sentinel Workbooks | Excel Workbooks |
|---|---|---|
| Data Source | Multiple security data sources, live data | Static or dynamic data, often external |
| Interactivity | Highly interactive with real-time filtering | Interactive with pivot tables and filters, but not real-time |
| Collaboration | Built for team collaboration with shared workspaces | Collaboration possible via sharing and co-authoring |
| Visualization | Extensive visualization options, specialized for security data | General-purpose charts, graphs, and conditional formatting |
| Analysis | Specialized KQL for deep data analysis | General formulas and functions for a broad range of analysis |
To excel in the SC-200 exam, understanding how to create, configure, and interpret custom workbooks within Azure Sentinel is crucial. Candidates should not only know how to construct workbooks but also understand the best practices for visualization and data representation, ensuring workbooks deliver actionable insights for security operations teams.
Practice Test with Explanation
True/False: In Azure Sentinel, workbooks can be used to create interactive dashboards and workbooks based on collected data.
- True
Answer: True
Explanation: Azure Sentinel workbooks are indeed used to create customizable interactive dashboards and reports that allow analysts to visualize and analyze data.
Multiple Select: Which data sources can be used to create custom workbooks in Azure Sentinel? (Select all that apply)
- A) Security events
- B) Azure Active Directory logs
- C) Office 365 email logs
- D) Tweets from a Twitter account
Answer: A) Security events, B) Azure Active Directory logs, C) Office 365 email logs
Explanation: Azure Sentinel workbooks can utilize data from security events, Azure AD logs, and Office 365 email logs but not directly from social media like Twitter.
Single Select: Which language is primarily used to query and filter data in Azure Sentinel when creating custom workbooks?
- A) JavaScript
- B) Python
- C) KQL (Kusto Query Language)
- D) SQL
Answer: C) KQL (Kusto Query Language)
Explanation: KQL or Kusto Query Language is the language used within Azure Sentinel to query and manage the data when creating custom workbooks.
True/False: You must have contributor permissions on the Azure Sentinel workspace to create custom workbooks.
- True
Answer: True
Explanation: To create custom workbooks in Azure Sentinel, a user needs to have contributor or higher permissions on the workspace.
Single Select: How can you share a custom workbook in Azure Sentinel with other team members?
- A) Send them a direct link to the workbook
- B) Export the workbook as a PDF
- C) Publish the workbook as a template in the Azure Sentinel community
- D) Share the workbook to their Azure Active Directory groups
Answer: C) Publish the workbook as a template in the Azure Sentinel community
Explanation: Custom workbooks can be shared by publishing them as templates to the Azure Sentinel community or the Azure Sentinel GitHub community.
True/False: Once a custom workbook is created in Azure Sentinel, it cannot be edited or modified.
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Custom workbooks in Azure Sentinel can indeed be edited and modified after they have been created.
Single Select: What is the primary purpose of Azure Sentinel workbooks?
- A) Automatically respond to threats
- B) Create and manage alerts
- C) Visualize and analyze data
- D) Store logs and activity data
Answer: C) Visualize and analyze data
Explanation: The primary purpose of Azure Sentinel workbooks is to visualize and analyze data to help security analysts understand and respond to threats.
True/False: Azure Sentinel workbooks can only be created using built-in templates provided by Microsoft.
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: While Microsoft does provide built-in templates for Azure Sentinel workbooks, users also have the ability to create custom workbooks from scratch.
Multiple Select: Which visualization components can be included in Azure Sentinel custom workbooks? (Select all that apply)
- A) Charts
- B) Tables
- C) Maps
- D) SLA timers
Answer: A) Charts, B) Tables, C) Maps
Explanation: Azure Sentinel custom workbooks can include a range of visualization components such as charts, tables, and maps. SLA timers are not a standard visualization component in Azure Sentinel workbooks.
Single Select: What can you use to standardize the creation of custom workbooks across your organization in Azure Sentinel?
- A) Workbook templates
- B) PowerShell scripts
- C) Azure Logic Apps
- D) Azure Automation Runbooks
Answer: A) Workbook templates
Explanation: Workbook templates are used in Azure Sentinel to standardize the creation of custom workbooks across an organization.
True/False: You can use custom workbooks in Azure Sentinel to track the status of incidents over time.
- True
Answer: True
Explanation: Custom workbooks in Azure Sentinel can be configured to track and visualize various aspects of incidents, including their status over time.
Single Select: What must you configure in Azure Sentinel to start collecting data for custom workbooks?
- A) Data connectors
- B) Automation rules
- C) Playbooks
- D) Incident templates
Answer: A) Data connectors
Explanation: Data connectors must be configured in Azure Sentinel to collect data from various sources, which can then be used in custom workbooks for analysis.
Great post! The step-by-step guide to create custom workbooks is very helpful.
How do you handle data ingestion for custom workbooks in Sentinel?
Thanks, this blog was exactly what I needed!
Can anyone share their experience on customizing visualizations? I’m facing some issues with chart types.
I’m having trouble integrating third-party alerts into my custom workbook. Any pointers?
It’s amazing how detailed the tutorial is. Thanks a lot!
For KPI monitoring, which visualization would you recommend?
The downloadable template in the post was a life-saver!