Tutorial / Cram Notes
Designing and configuring analytics rules is a crucial aspect of the SC-200 Microsoft Security Operations Analyst certification, which focuses on threat detection, response, and improving the security posture of an organization. Analytics rules in security solutions like Microsoft’s Azure Sentinel help in identifying, alerting, and responding to potential threats by analyzing the security data collected.
Types of Analytics Rules
There are mainly two types of analytics rules that can be configured within Azure Sentinel:
- Scheduled Analytics Rules: These rules run queries at set intervals and look for patterns across your data that might indicate malicious activity.
- Microsoft Incident Creation Analytics Rules: These are pre-defined rules provided by Microsoft, which can automatically create incidents upon detection of certain known threats or anomalies.
Designing Analytics Rules
When designing analytics rules, consider the following steps:
- Define the Objective: Clearly articulate what security scenarios or threats the rule aims to detect. This might be identifying potential malware activity, discovering unauthorized access, or detecting data exfiltration attempts.
- Understand the Data Sources: Know which data logs or sources to query. Common sources include Azure Active Directory, Microsoft 365 Defender, third-party security tools, and even on-premises data synchronized into Azure.
- Craft the Query: Write a Kusto Query Language (KQL) statement that will look for the indicators of compromise or anomalous behavior relevant to your objective.
- Set the Triggers: Determine the thresholds or conditions under which the rule will trigger an alert. Triggers can be based on the frequency of an event, the uniqueness of a behavior, or match with known threat indicators.
- Configure the Alert Details: Decide the severity, alert title, description, and recommended actions for the alert. These details will help in prioritizing and responding to alerts effectively.
Configuring Analytics Rules
Follow these steps to configure analytics rules in Azure Sentinel:
- Select the Workspace: Access Azure Sentinel and choose the appropriate workspace where you intend to create the rule.
- Create a New Rule: Go to the “Analytics” blade and click on “+ Create” to start setting up a new rule.
- Define the Rule Logic: Configure the rule by inputting your KQL query, defining the rule logic, and setting the alert details.
- Set Schedule: Choose the frequency at which the rule will evaluate the data and the period it will investigate during each run.
- Configure Incident Settings: Decide if the alert should create an incident and how these incidents should be grouped.
- Review and Enable: Before enabling the rule, review your configuration and ensure it aligns with the designed objective. If everything looks good, save and enable the rule.
Example
An example of configuring a scheduled analytics rule for detecting multiple failed login attempts might include the following steps:
- The objective is to detect potential brute force attacks.
- You choose sign-in logs from Azure Active Directory as your data source.
- Your KQL query might look like:
- The trigger is set for more than five failed login attempts within the last five minutes.
- Alerts are configured with medium severity, a clear title like “Potential Brute Force Attack Detected”, and an action to review affected accounts.
SigninLogs | where ResultType !in (“0”, “50125”, “50140”) | summarize Count = count() by UserPrincipalName | where Count > 5
Comparison Table: Scheduled vs. Microsoft Incident Creation Rules
| Feature | Scheduled Analytics Rules | Microsoft Incident Creation Analytics Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Customization | Full (Query, thresholds, schedules, etc.) | Limited (Pre-defined by Microsoft) |
| Objective | User defined based on specific needs | Generic, covers common known threat patterns |
| Data Sources | Multiple, including custom logs | Pre-set by Microsoft |
| Incident Creation and Grouping | Customizable by the user | Automated based on Microsoft’s criteria |
| Maintenance | Requires regular review and tuning | Managed by Microsoft, updated regularly |
| Ideal For | Custom threat detection scenarios | Quick deployment, known threats |
Designing and configuring analytics rules requires a deep understanding of your organization’s security needs and the capabilities of Azure Sentinel. By following best practices for rule creation and ensuring rules are regularly reviewed and updated, a security operations analyst can significantly enhance the threat detection and response capabilities of their organization.
[Note: The information provided is based on the functionalities available up to the knowledge cutoff date and may be subject to change or update by Microsoft.]
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: Analytics rules in Microsoft Sentinel can only be created using the Azure portal.
- False
Analytics rules in Microsoft Sentinel can be created using the Azure portal, but they can also be created and managed through API calls, PowerShell scripts, and templates.
Which of the following is NOT a type of analytics rule in Microsoft Sentinel?
- A) Scheduled
- B) Microsoft Security
- C) Fusion
- D) Threshold
D) Threshold
The types of analytics rules in Microsoft Sentinel are Scheduled, Microsoft Security, and Fusion. There is no dedicated “Threshold” type of analytics rule.
True or False: Analytics rules in Microsoft Sentinel cannot be based on machine learning.
- False
Analytics rules in Microsoft Sentinel can utilize machine learning models for anomaly detection and other advanced analysis techniques.
Which of the following fields are mandatory when creating a Scheduled analytics rule in Microsoft Sentinel?
- A) Rule logic
- B) MITRE ATT&CK tactics
- C) Alert Severity
- D) Rule name
- E) Description
Select all that apply.
- A) Rule logic
- C) Alert Severity
- D) Rule name
While creating a Scheduled analytics rule, you need to define the rule logic (query), alert severity, and rule name. The MITRE ATT&CK tactics and description fields are optional.
True or False: When configuring an analytics rule, you can specify the severity of the alerts it generates.
- True
When configuring an analytics rule, you can define the severity of the generated alerts (Low, Medium, High, or Informational).
Analytics rules in Microsoft Sentinel can be used to:
- A) Create incidents
- B) Assign incidents to specific users
- C) Determine the frequency of alert generation
- D) Automatically resolve incidents
Select all that apply.
- A) Create incidents
- C) Determine the frequency of alert generation
Analytics rules can be configured to create incidents and determine the frequency at which alerts should be generated. Assigning incidents to specific users and automatically resolving incidents are done through different mechanisms, not directly through analytics rules.
True or False: Fusion analytics rules use a combination of multiple low-fidelity anomalous signals to detect multi-stage attacks.
- True
Fusion analytics rules leverage multiple low-fidelity alerts from different data sources to detect complex multi-stage attacks.
Scheduled analytics rules can trigger on which of the following data in Microsoft Sentinel?
- A) Alerts from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
- B) Logs from Azure Activity
- C) Data ingested from third-party solutions
- D) Threat intelligence indicators
Select all that apply.
- B) Logs from Azure Activity
- C) Data ingested from third-party solutions
Scheduled analytics rules can be set to trigger on log data, including Azure Activity logs and data ingested from third-party solutions. They do not directly trigger on alerts or threat intelligence indicators.
True or False: When designing analytics rules, it’s unnecessary to consider the potential impact on resources and performance.
- False
When designing analytics rules, it’s crucial to consider the potential impact on resources and performance to ensure that the rules are efficient and do not overload the system.
The “Incident settings” in an analytics rule allow you to:
- A) Group related alerts into single incidents
- B) Set the owner of the incident
- C) Define the rule’s trigger frequency
- D) Automatically escalate incidents to a ticketing system
A) Group related alerts into single incidents
Incident settings within an analytics rule let you group related alerts into single incidents based on predefined criteria, improving the management of related alerts. Setting the owner, defining trigger frequency, and auto-escalation are not part of the incident settings directly within the analytics rule configuration.
Interview Questions
What are analytics rules in Microsoft Sentinel?
Analytics rules are used to detect and alert on specific security-related events in the data collected by Sentinel.
What are the two types of analytics rules available in Sentinel?
The two types of analytics rules available in Sentinel are built-in rules and custom rules.
What are built-in analytics rules in Sentinel?
Built-in analytics rules are a set of pre-configured rules that cover a range of security scenarios and are designed to identify threats that are commonly encountered in the security landscape.
What are custom analytics rules in Sentinel?
Custom analytics rules are rules that you create and configure to suit the unique security requirements of your organization. You can use custom analytics rules to detect threats and security issues that are specific to your environment.
What is the process for designing a custom analytics rule in Sentinel?
The process for designing a custom analytics rule involves defining the logic that will be used to identify a specific security event or issue, configuring the rule to collect data from the relevant data sources, and setting up the appropriate alerting and notification mechanisms.
What is the purpose of the query language used in analytics rules in Sentinel?
The query language used in analytics rules in Sentinel is used to define the logic that will be used to identify security-related events in the data collected by Sentinel. This language is designed to be flexible and powerful, allowing you to specify complex conditions and filters that can help you to identify specific types of threats or security issues.
What are some examples of built-in analytics rules in Sentinel?
Examples of built-in analytics rules in Sentinel include rules for detecting brute force attacks, malware infections, suspicious account activity, and other common security scenarios.
How can you test an analytics rule in Sentinel to ensure that it is working correctly?
To test an analytics rule in Sentinel, you can use the built-in query testing tool to run the rule against a sample data set and verify that it is detecting the events and issues that you expect.
What is the purpose of alert thresholds in analytics rules in Sentinel?
Alert thresholds are used to specify how frequently an alert should be triggered by an analytics rule. By configuring the alert threshold, you can control how often you receive alerts for a particular security issue.
How can you ensure that your custom analytics rules in Sentinel are effective in detecting security threats?
To ensure that your custom analytics rules in Sentinel are effective, you should monitor the data collected by Sentinel to identify any false positives or false negatives that may be occurring. You can then adjust the rules as needed to improve their accuracy and effectiveness. Additionally, you can leverage the resources and best practices available in the Sentinel community to learn about new threats and techniques for detecting them.
Great post on configuring analytics rules for SC-200! Really helped me understand the logic better.
I am having difficulty in setting up the suppression rules. Any tips?
Can someone explain the difference between event patterns and event groups in analytics rules?
Thanks for the detailed explanation! Much appreciated.
I disagree with the recommendation to always use advanced hunting queries. Sometimes built-in options are more efficient.
How do you handle false positives when configuring analytics rules?
Is it possible to integrate custom logic into Azure Sentinel analytics rules?
Appreciate the blog post!