Alert Types That Use the Traffic Index
The Alert Types listed below use the Traffic Index . For a list of Alert Types by each index or XDR Kill Chain stage, or for a general overview, refer to Machine Learning and Analytics Overview.
To minimize excessive alerting, each alert type is triggered only once in a 24-hour period for the set of attributes that triggered that specific alert.
Where applicable, the Tactics and Techniques are linked to the relevant MITRE | ATT&CK page.
Stellar Cyber also provides an interactive tool that lets you look up alert types by data source, alert name, event type, or source index.
- Application Usage Anomaly
- Bad Destination Reputation Anomaly
- Bad Reputation Login
- Bad Source Reputation Anomaly
- Command & Control Reputation Anomaly
- Cryptojacking
- DGA
- DHCP Server Anomaly
- DNS Tunneling Anomaly
- Emerging Threat
- Exploited C&C Connection
- External Brute-Forced Successful User Login
- External Firewall Denial Anomaly
- External Firewall Policy Anomaly
- External Handshake Failure
- External IP / Port Scan Anomaly
- External Non-Standard Port Anomaly
- External Plain Text Passwords Detected
- External Protocol Account Login Failure Anomaly
- External RDP Brute Force Attack
- External RDP Suspicious Outbound
- External SMB Read Anomaly
- External SMB Username Enumeration
- External SMB Write Anomaly
- External SQL Anomaly
- External SQL Dumpfile Execution
- External SQL Shell Command
- External Suspected Malicious User Agent
- External SYN Flood Attacker
- External SYN Flood Victim
- External URL Reconnaissance Anomaly
- External User Agent Anomaly
- External User Application Usage Anomaly
- External User Data Volume Anomaly
- External User Login Failure Anomaly
- Impossible Travel Anomaly
- Internal Brute-Forced Successful User Login
- Internal Firewall Denial Anomaly
- Internal Firewall Policy Anomaly
- Internal Handshake Failure
- Internal IP / Port Scan Anomaly
- Internal Non-Standard Port Anomaly
- Internal Plain Text Passwords Detected
- Internal Protocol Account Login Failure Anomaly
- Internal RDP Brute Force Attack
- Internal RDP Suspicious Outbound
- Internal SMB Read Anomaly
- Internal SMB Username Enumeration
- Internal SMB Write Anomaly
- Internal SQL Anomaly
- Internal SQL Dumpfile Execution
- Internal SQL Shell Command
- Internal Suspected Malicious User Agent
- Internal SYN Flood Attacker
- Internal SYN Flood Victim
- Internal URL Reconnaissance Anomaly
- Internal User Agent Anomaly
- Internal User Application Usage Anomaly
- Internal User Data Volume Anomaly
- Internal User Login Failure Anomaly
- Login Time Anomaly
- Long App Session Anomaly
- Malicious Site Access
- Outbound Destination Country Anomaly
- Outbytes Anomaly
- Phishing URL
- Possible Encrypted Phishing Site Visit
- Possible Phishing Site Visit from Email
- Possible Unencrypted Phishing Site Visit
- RDP Outbytes Anomaly
- RDP Reverse Tunnel
- Recently Registered Domains
- Scanner Reputation Anomaly
- Uncommon Application Anomaly
- User Login Location Anomaly
- WAF Internal Attacker Anomaly
- WAF Rule Violation Anomaly
Application Usage Anomaly
An internal application had an anomalously large number of connections to one or more external hosts in a measured interval, exceeding 99.99% of all other intervals corresponding to different applications in the past two weeks.
Investigate the application and connections, and consider blocking connections from the application.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR App Anomaly (XT2003)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is pripub_appid
.
Severity
15
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
appid
— application IDappid_name
— application nameactual
— actual number of connections in the periodstellar.threshold
— threshold number of connections per interval below which 99.99% of all other intervals, corresponding to different applications in the past two weeks, fallsrcip_host
— host name of a sample source IP addresssrcip_geo.countryName
— source countrydstip_host
— host name of a sample destination IP address
Use Case with Data Points
Every application's (appid
) number of connections is calculated periodically. If an application’s connections (actual
) are larger than the threshold (stellar.threshold
) below which 99.99% of all other intervals corresponding to different applications in the past two weeks fall, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes a sample source host (srcip_host
), the source country (srcip_geo.countryName
), and a sample destination host (dstip_host
). If there are multiple source or destination hosts, view the list in the Original Records.
Bad Destination Reputation Anomaly
A destination IP address with a bad reputation has received an anomalously large number of connections. Investigate the connections and consider blocking the destination IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Persistent Foothold
-
Tactic: XDR Intel (XTA0005)
-
Technique: XDR Bad Reputation (XT2010)
-
Tags: [Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is dstip_bad_reps
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
dstip
— destination IP addressdstip_host
— destination host namedstip_reputation
— destination reputationactual
— actual number of connections to the destination IP address in the periodtypical
— typical number of connections to the destination IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_reputation
— source reputationappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
The number of connections for every destination IP address (dstip
) with a bad reputation (dstip_reputation
) is calculated periodically. If a destination IP address's number of connections (actual
) is much larger than the typical historical number (typical
), an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source IP address making the connection (srcip_host
), the application (appid_name
) used, and the reputation of the source host (srcip_reputation
).
Bad Reputation Login
A successful login was observed from an IP address with a history of malicious activity. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Bad Reputation (XT2010)
-
Tags: [External]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is bad_reputation_login
.
Severity
50
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_reputation
— source reputationsource_geo.countryName
— source countrydstip_host
— destination host namelogin_type
— type of loginusername
— user name
Use Case with Data Points
The login records are checked for every source IP address (srcip
). If a source IP address has successful login records and its reputation (srcip_reputation
) is bad (except brute-forcer and scanner), an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes source IP address (srcip
), source host (srcip_host
), source reputation (srcip_reputation
), source country (srcip_geo.countryName
), login type (login_type
), and user name (username
).
Bad Source Reputation Anomaly
A source IP address with a bad reputation has made an anomalously large number of connections. Investigate the connections and consider blocking the source IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Bad Reputation (XT2010)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is srcip_bad_reps
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addresssrcip_reputation
— source reputationactual
— actual number of connections in the periodtypical
— typical number of connections from the source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressdstip_reputation
— destination reputationappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
The number of connections for every source IP address (srcip
) with a bad reputation (srcip_reputation
) is calculated periodically. If a source IP address's number of connections (actual
) is much larger than the typical historical number (typical
), an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the application (appid_name
) used and the reputation of the destination host (dstip_reputation
).
Command & Control Reputation Anomaly
An anomalously large number of connections were made to known command and control servers. Investigate the connections and source hosts. If malicious, block the IP addresses of the command and control servers.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Persistent Foothold
-
Tactic: XDR Intel (XTA0005)
-
Technique: XDR Command and Control Reputation (XT5001)
-
Tags: [Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is cnc_reputation
.
Severity
70
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
dstip
— destination IP addressdstip_host
— destination host namedstip_reputation
— destination reputationactual
— actual number of connections in the periodtypical
— typical number of connections to the destination IP address with a C&C reputationsrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addresssrcip_reputation
— source reputationappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
The number of connections for every destination IP (dstip
) with a command and control reputation (dstip_reputation
) is calculated periodically. If a destination IP has a much higher number of connections (actual
) than its history (typical
) in any period, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the application used in the connection (appid_name
), the source host (srcip_host
), and the source reputation (srcip_reputation
).
Cryptojacking
An unauthorized coin miner used a computer to mine cryptocurrency. Consider blocking the source IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exfiltration & Impact
-
Tactic: Impact (TA0040 )
-
Technique: Resource Hijacking (T1496 )
-
Tags: [Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is cryptojacking
.
Severity
70
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
ids.signature
— IDS signaturesrcip
— source IP address of the cryptojacking actiondstip
— destination IP address of the cryptojacking actionsrcip_reputation
— source reputationsrcip_host
— source host namedstip_reputation
— destination reputationdstip_host
— destination host name
Use Case with Data Points
If an unauthorized coin miner is detected by IDS, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the IDS signature (ids.signature
), source IP address (srcip
), source reputation (srcip_reputation
), source host (srcip_host
), destination IP address (dstip
), destination reputation (dstip_reputation
), and destination host (dstip_host
).
DGA
A host is using a potential Domain Generation Algorithm (DGA). If the target domain is a malicious domain, the host might be compromised. Investigate the DGA domains and the host.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Persistent Foothold
-
Tactic: Command and Control (TA0011 )
-
Technique: Dynamic Resolution (T1568 )
-
Tags: [Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is dga_resolvable
.
Severity
75
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address of the host that sends the DGA queriesmetadata.request.effective_tld
— effective top-level domain of the DNS querysrcip_host
— source host nameis_dga
— flag marking whether or not the DNS query is a DGA queryactual
— number of DGA domains the host has queried
Use Case with Data Points
Whenever a host (srcip
) sends a DNS query (appid_name
: dns
) and the DNS server returns a non-existent domain (NXDOMAIN) response (metadata.response.reply_code
), the NX domain query counter for the host is increased. We reset the counter if no NX domain queries are observed for a period of time. When the counter reaches a certain threshold, the host is monitored. When monitored, we run the FQDNs of all DNS queries (metadata.response.query
) sent by this host through domain generation analytics to determine whether the domain's entropy indicates a DGA anomaly. If so, we mark the DNS record (is_dga
). If the DNS query gets a response with valid resolved IP addresses (metadata.response.resolved_ips
), we call it a resolvable query, otherwise we call it a non-resolvable query.
If a monitored host (srcip
) sends a resolvable DGA query (is_dga
: yes_resolvable
), we check the effective top-level domain (metadata.response.effective_tld
). If the same host (srcip
) previously sent non-resolvable DGA queries (is_dga
: yes
) with the same effective top-level domain (metadata.response.effective_tld
), the host is considered to have a high risk of being compromised and performing C&C with DGA. The Interflow includes the source host (srcip
), DNS query (metadata.response.query
), query effective top-level domain (metadata.response.effective_tld
), and DGA flag (is_dga
).
DHCP Server Anomaly
A new DHCP server appeared in the network. This could be a hacker attempting to steer traffic. Investigate and consider telling employees to avoid this server.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [Internal] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Server Anomaly (XT2007)
-
Tags: [Internal]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is dhcp_anomaly
.
Severity
20
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.response.server_ip
— IP address of the anomalous DHCP serverdstip
— IP address of the anomalous DHCP destinationengid
— sensor that reported the DHCP trafficsrcip_host
— host name that visited the suspicious DHCP serversrcip_geo.countryName
— country name of the source that visited the suspicious DHCP server
Use Case with Data Points
If a DHCP server that has never been seen before appears in the network, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the destination IP address (dstip
), destination host (dstip_host
), source host (srcip_host
), and source country (srcip_geo.countryName
).
DNS Tunneling Anomaly
An anomalously large number of connections tunneling high-entropy traffic through DNS were made. This can indicate data exfiltration. Investigate the tunnel and source host. If malicious, block the source host.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exfiltration & Impact
-
Tactic: Exfiltration (TA0010 )
-
Technique: Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol (T1048 )
-
Tags: []
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is dns_tunnel
.
Severity
98
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.request.effective_tld
— effective top-level domain, such as yahoo.comsrcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressmetadata.request.query
— DNS queryactual
— actual number of bytes transmitted through the tunnel in the periodtypical
— typical number of bytes transmitted through a tunnel in the periodtotal_entropy
— total entropy (information density) sent by the DNS tunnelquery_count
— number of queries sent by the DNS tunnel
Use Case with Data Points
The DNS queries (metadata.requests.query
) for each DNS tunnel (comprising the source host (srcip_host
), destination host (dstip
), and top-level domain (effective_tld
)) are analyzed periodically. If a DNS tunnel has sent anomalously more entropy (total_entropy
) and bytes (actual
) than is normal (typical
) in any period, an alert is triggered. The number of queries sent (query_count
) is also considered.
Emerging Threat
An emerging threat has been observed. Investigate the IP address and consider blocking.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Persistent Foothold
-
Tactic: XDR Intel (XTA0005)
-
Technique: XDR Emerging Threat (XT5003)
-
Tags: []
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is emerging_threat
.
Severity
80
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address marked as an emerging threatdstip
— destination IP address marked as an emerging threaturl_list
— URL marked as an emerging threatdomain_list
— domain marked as an emerging threatsrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP address
Use Case with Data Points
Stellar Cyber monitors traffic for emerging threats. An alert is triggered if emerging threats are observed in any of the following:
- Source IP address (
srcip
) - Destination IP address (
dstip
) - URL (
url_list
) - Domain (
domain_list
)
Note that only one of these is needed to trigger the alert. So, although the Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), destination IP address (dstip
), URL (url_list
), and domain (domain_list
), not all the values may be populated, depending on the nature of the observed threat.
Exploited C&C Connection
An exploited host with vulnerabilities initiated a connection to the exploit attacker, which could indicate the host being compromised and performing C&C activities. See if the exploit was successful. Check the source host, and consider blocking.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Command and Control Connection Exploitation (XT2014)
-
Tags: [Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is exploit_attempt_correlation
.
Severity
75
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
tenant_id
— tenant IDexploit_id
— ID of the original exploit eventseen_traffic_id
— ID of the original Interflow traffic recordsrcip
(of exploit event) — IP address of the attacker (correlation_info.srcip
)dstip
(of exploit event) — IP address of the target host (correlation_info.dstip
)srcip
(of traffic record) — IP address of the target host (correlation_info.srcip
)dstip
(of traffic record) — IP address of the attacker (correlation_info.dstip
)
Use Case with Data Points
Two events are involved in this alert type. In the first event, an attacker (srcip
) with the IP address A is performing an exploit against a target (dstip
) with the IP address B. If, following that event, an Interflow traffic record is observed where the target host (srcip
) with IP address B initiates a network connection to the attacker (dstip
) whose IP address is A, an alert is triggered.
When an alert is triggered a new correlation event is generated. The Interflow of the correlation event includes the reference ID of the exploit event (exploit_id
), the reference ID of the traffic record (seen_traffic_id
), the IP address of the attacker (correlation_info.srcip
of the exploit event or correlation_info.dstip
of the traffic record), the IP address of the victim (correlation_info.dstip
of the exploit event or correlation_info.srcip
of the traffic record).
External Brute-Forced Successful User Login
A successful login was observed from an IP address that had previously seen a large number of login failures, or a successful login to a user account was observed from another IP address or IP addresses that had previously seen a large number of login failures to that account. Check with the user.
This alert type has the following subtypes:
This alert type has a relatively long detection delay of up to 40 minutes because it waits for login events from high latency data sources and is sensitive to the event order of user logins.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] Credential Access (TA0006 )
-
Technique: Brute Force (T1110 )
-
Tags: [External]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_user_success_brute_forcer
.
Severity
90
Alert Subtype: Source IP Based
The source IP-based alert subtype has the same XDR Kill Chain as the user ID-based alert subtype, but differs in the Key Fields and Relevant Data Points and Use Case with Data Points.
The xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data is external_user_success_brute_forcer_srcip
.
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_usersid
— Windows SID associated with the source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_reputation
— source reputationsource_geo.countryName
— source countrydstip_host
— destination host namelogin_type
— type of loginusername
— user namerelated_alert._id
— link to the related External User Login Failure Anomaly
Use Case with Data Points
The login records are checked for every external source IP address (srcip
). An alert is triggered if that IP address:
- Has so many failed login attempts that it triggered the External User Login Failure Anomaly, and
- Had a successful login
A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), login type (login_type
), source host (srcip_host
), source reputation (srcip_reputation
), source country (srcip_geo.countryName
), and user name (username
).
The user ID-based alert subtype has the same XDR Kill Chain as the source IP-based alert subtype, but differs in the Key Fields and Relevant Data Points and Use Case with Data Points.
The xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data is external_user_success_brute_forcer_srcip_usersid
.
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_usersid
— Windows SID associated with the source IP addresssrcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_reputation
— source reputationsource_geo.countryName
— source countrydstip_host
— destination host namelogin_type
— type of loginusername
— user namerelated_alert._id
— link to the related External Account Login Failure Anomaly
Use Case with Data Points
The login records to a user account (srcip_usersid
) are checked for every external source IP address (srcip
). An alert is triggered if that user account:
-
Has so many failed login attempts that it triggered the External Account Login Failure Anomaly, and
-
Had a successful login
A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), login type (login_type
), source host (srcip_host
), source reputation (srcip_reputation
), source country (srcip_geo.countryName
), and user name (username
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External Firewall Denial Anomaly
A source host had actions blocked by a firewall too many times. Investigate the firewall rules that were violated. If suspicious, block the source IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
Technique: XDR Firewall Anomaly (XT2002)
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis; Firewall Anomalies]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_fw_action
.
Severity
40
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_host
— source host IP addresssrcip
— source host IP addressactual
— actual number of firewall denials in the periodtypical
— typical number of firewall denials in the perioddstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressdev_name
— name of the firewallengid_name
— name of the sensor
Use Case with Data Points
The number of firewall denials for every source IP address (srcip
) is calculated periodically. If a source IP address’s number of firewall denials (actual
) is much larger than the historical count (typical
) of all IP addresses, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the name of the firewall (dev_name
), the name of the sensor (engid_name
), and the destination host (dstip_host
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External Firewall Policy Anomaly
A rarely triggered firewall policy has been violated. Investigate that policy and track down the violation.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Firewall Anomaly (XT2002)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis;Firewall Anomalies]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_fw_policy_id
.
Severity
20
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
fw_policy_id
— ID of the violated firewall policydays_silent
— number of days since this firewall policy was last seensrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressdev_name
— device namedev_type
— device typeengid_name
— sensor name
Use Case with Data Points
A firewall policy violation (fw_policy_id
), which is raised by a device (dev_name
and dev_type
) and captured by a sensor (engid_name
), shows never seen or very rare (days_silent
) traffic between a host (srcip_host
) and another host (dstip_host
). This violation will trigger an alert.
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External Handshake Failure
There were too many handshake failures between two hosts, which might indicate port scanning. Check the source host to see if this was expected and, if not, consider blocking the host.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] Reconnaissance (TA0043 )
-
Technique: Active Scanning (T1595 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_handshake_failure
.
Severity
10
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address of the host with the handshake failuressrcip_host
— source host namedstip
— destination IP address of the host with the handshake failuresdstip_host
— destination host nametimestamp
— when the scan happened
Use Case with Data Points
If a host (srcip
) scans across many ports on another host (dstip
), an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the IP address of the potential attacker (srcip
), the IP address of the victim (dstip
), a special message flag (msgtyp
), and when the scan happened (timestamp
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External IP / Port Scan Anomaly
A host has either generated an anomalous number of connections compared to the typical amount, or has triggered an anomalous number of connection failure responses, in the measured interval. This can indicate that an attacker is scanning for computers or ports to exploit.
This alert type has the following subtypes:
XDR Kill Chain
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_port_scan
.
Severity
10
Alert Subtype: Connection Failure Anomaly (Sensor Traffic)
The xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data is connection_failure_anomaly
.
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressnum_failed
— unique number of (destination IP and destination port) tuples that respond with failed statusnum_successful
— unique number of (destination IP and destination port) tuples that respond with success statuspercent_failed
— percent of unique (destination IP and destination port) tuples that respond with failed statusweighted_anomaly_score
— net score based on weighted rating of successful versus failed attempts (scanning, login, or other). Scores greater than upper threshold are potentially malicious and less than lower threshold are benign.srcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
For every unique triplet (source IP address, destination IP address, and destination port) browsed by each source IP address (srcip
), the number of response failures and successes is calculated periodically. If the number of failures is significantly larger than the number of successes, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source host (srcip_host
), destination host (dstip_host
), and application name (appid_name
).
Considering that a lateral scan (private to private) is more sensitive than a non-lateral scan, this alert type is divided into two parts. One focuses on lateral scan analysis, the other focuses on non-lateral scan analysis. The mechanism remains the same as before, with the trigger condition for lateral scan alert being more sensitive than non-lateral one.
Validation / Remediation
If the source IP address is internal targeting an external address, check with the user if they are aware of the activity or if they are authorized to perform the activity. Inform the user's supervisor if the activity is unauthorized.
If the source IP address is external targeting any addresses, check the reputation of the source IP address as in known malicious/scanner.
Potential False Positives
Some legitimate activities such as vulnerability scans or penetration testing may trigger this alert type, if from an external IP address to an internal IP address.
Alert Subtype: Connection Spike Anomaly (Firewall / Windows Traffic)
The xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data is connection_spike_anomaly
.
XDR Kill Chain
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_port_scan_tsa
.
Severity
10
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressactual
— actual number of connections to the destination IP address in the periodtypical
— typical number of connections to the destination IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
For every unique (destination IP address and destination port) browsed by each source IP address (srcip
), the number of response failures and successes and the number of total data volume are calculated periodically. If the total data volume is significantly larger than the typical number, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source host (srcip_host
), destination host (dstip_host
), and application name (appid_name
).
Considering that a lateral scan (private to private) is more sensitive than a non-lateral scan, this alert type is divided into two parts. One focuses on lateral scan analysis, the other focuses on non-lateral scan analysis. The mechanism remains the same as before, with the trigger condition for lateral scan alert being more sensitive than non-lateral one.
Validation / Remediation
If the source IP address is internal targeting an external address, check with the user if they are aware of the activity or if they are authorized to perform the activity. Inform the user's supervisor if the activity is unauthorized.
If the source IP address is external targeting any addresses, check the reputation of the source IP address as in known malicious/scanner.
Potential False Positives
Some legitimate activities such as vulnerability scans or penetration testing may trigger this alert type, if from an external IP address to an internal IP address.
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External Non-Standard Port Anomaly
An application had an anomalously large number of connections or a rarely seen connection on non-standard ports. Check the application to be sure this is benign.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Persistent Foothold
-
Tactic: [External] Command and Control (TA0011 )
-
Technique: Non-Standard Port (T1571 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_non_std_port_anomaly
.
Severity
15
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
dstip
— destination IP addressdstport
— destination portappid
— application IDdays_silent
— number of days since the application was last seenappid_name
— application namedstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressactual
— actual number of connections in the periodtypical
— typical number of connections in the period
Use Case with Data Points
The number of connections for an application (dst_ip
+ dstport
+ appid
) is calculated periodically. If a non-standard combination has an actual number of connections (actual
) that is much larger than the typical number of connections (typical
), or the combination has not appeared for a long time, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source host (srcip_host
), destination IP address (dstip
), destination port (dstport
), application ID (appid
), and application name (appid_name
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External Plain Text Passwords Detected
A plain text password was detected in unencrypted traffic. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Clear Password (XT2006)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_clear_password
.
Severity
10
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressdstip
— destination IP addressactual
— actual number of connections with a plain text password in the periodsrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
If there are plain text passwords in unencrypted traffic records with a public source IP address (srcip
) or destination IP address (dstip
), an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), destination IP address (dstip
), source host (srcip_host
), destination host (dstip_host
), and application (appid_name
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External Protocol Account Login Failure Anomaly
An anomalously large number of login failures over SMB or FTP was observed. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] Credential Access (TA0006 )
-
Technique: Brute Force (T1110 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_protocol_account_login_failure
.
Severity
35
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.request.username
— user name in the HTTP connection requestevent_summary.total_failed
— number of failed logins in the periodevent_summary.total_successful
— number of successful logins in the periodevent_summary.total_fail_ratio
— percent of failed logins in the period, which is:event_summary.total_failed
/ (event_summary.total_failed
+event_summary.total_successful
)weighted_anomaly_score
— net score based on weighted rating of successful versus failed attempts (scanning, login, or other). Scores greater than upper threshold are potentially malicious and less than lower threshold are benign.appid_name
— application namelogin_type
— type of loginsrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addresssrcip_reputation
— source reputation
Use Case with Data Points
For every user name (metadata.request.username
) in the HTTP connections names (that do not begin with "Mozilla" or "Aella"), the number of failed and successful logins are calculated periodically. If the number of failed logins is much greater than successful logins, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the application name (appid_name
), login type (login_type
), source host (srcip_host
), and source reputation (srcip_reputation
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External RDP Brute Force Attack
An anomalously large number of RDP connections to an RDP server was observed. Check the source IP addresses to determine if they are unknown or malicious, and monitor any successful RDP logins.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] Credential Access (TA0006 )
-
Technique: Brute Force (T1110 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_rdp_brute_force
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
dstip
— IP address of the destination RDP serverdstip_host
— destination host nameactual
— actual number of RDP connections to the destination IP address in the observed time buckettypical
— typical number of RDP connections to the destination IP address in most time bucketssrcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host name
Use Case with Data Points
RDP connection activity is monitored and the number of connections are calculated periodically. If the number of connections to an RDP server (actual
) is much greater than normal (typical
), an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the destination IP address (dstip
) and source IP address (srcip
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External RDP Suspicious Outbound
Non-standard tools connecting to TCP port 3389 were observed. This could indicate lateral movement attempting to establish an RDP connection. Check the IP address and block if necessary.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR App Anomaly (XT2003)
-
Tags: [External; RDP]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_rdp_suspicious_outbound
.
Severity
60
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address of the host that connects to TCP port 3389 with a non-standard toolsrcip_host
— source host nameprocess_name
— process name
Use Case with Data Points
Connections to TCP port 3389 are monitored, and if non-standard tools connect, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
) and the process name (process_name
). The following are the standard tools:
- mstsc.exe
- RTSApp.exe
- RTS2App.exe
- RDCMan.exe
- ws_TunnelService.exe
- RSSensor.exe
- RemoteDesktopManagerFree.exe
- RemoteDesktopManager.exe
- RemoteDesktopManager64.exe
- mRemoteNG.exe
- mRemote.exe
- Terminals.exe
- spiceworks-finder.exe
- FSDiscovery.exe
- FSAssessment.exe
- MobaRTE.exe
- chrome.exe
- thor.exe
- thor64.exe
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External SMB Read Anomaly
An IP address sent an anomalously large number of read requests to SMB protocol based service(s). Investigate the files that the IP address tried to read. If suspicious, block the source IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] Initial Access (TA0001 )
-
Technique: Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_smb_read_anomaly
.
Severity
15
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host nameactual
— actual number of SMB reads from the source IP address in the periodtypical
— typical number of SMB reads from other source IP addresses in the perioddstip_host
— destination host namesmb_username
— SMB user nameevent_summary.smb_path_list
— folders experiencing a high volume of SMB read requests (the first three are shown in the alert description)
Use Case with Data Points
The number of SMB read requests for every source IP address (srcip
) is calculated periodically. If a source IP address’s number of SMB reads (actual
) is much larger than the typical number (typical
) and that of other IP addresses in any period, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the SMB user (smb_username
) and destination host (dstip_host
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External SMB Username Enumeration
At least 5 different users SMB login attempts and 1 denied attempt or at least 10 different users SMB login attempts, were observed from the same source. Check the source IP address. If malicious, consider blocking it.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] Credential Access (TA0006 )
-
Technique: Brute Force (T1110 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_smb_user_scan
.
Severity
40
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressactual
— actual unique SMB user counttypical
— SMB user count thresholdsmb_username_set
— all SMB login user names
Use Case with Data Points
If one source IP address (srcip
) has several SMB login attempts with (1) at least 5 unique user names and at least 1 denied attempt or (2) at least 10 unique user names, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), source host (srcip_host)
, destination host (dstip_host
), and all the user names (smb_username_set
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External SMB Write Anomaly
An IP address sent an anomalously large number of SMB write requests. Investigate the files that the IP address tried to write. If suspicious, block the source IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exfiltration & Impact
-
Tactic: [External] Impact (TA0040 )
-
Technique: Data Manipulation (T1565 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_smb_anomaly
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_host
— source host nameactual
— actual number of SMB writes in the periodtypical
— typical number of SMB writes in the perioddstip_host
— destination host namesmb_username
— SMB user nameevent_summary.smb_path_list
— folders experiencing a high volume of SMB write requests (the first three are shown in the alert description)
Use Case with Data Points
The number of SMB write requests for every source IP address (srcip_host
) is calculated periodically. If a source IP address’s number of SMB writes (actual
) is much larger than the typical number (typical
) and that of other IP addresses in any period, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the SMB user (smb_username
) and destination host (dstip_host
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External SQL Anomaly
An IP address sent an anomalously large number of queries to one or more SQL servers. Investigate the queries. If suspicious, block the source IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] Initial Access (TA0001 )
-
Technique: Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_mysql_anomaly
.
Severity
15
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_geo.countryName
— name of the source countryactual
— actual number of SQL queries in the periodtypical
— typical number of SQL queries from the source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP address
Use Case with Data Points
The number of SQL queries for every source IP address (srcip_host
) is calculated periodically. If a source IP’s SQL query count (actual
) is much larger than the typical count (typical
) and that of other IP addresses in any period, an alert is triggered. The source IP’s country is (srcip_geo.countryName
). The Interflow includes the destination host (dstip_host
) the source IP visits.
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External SQL Dumpfile Execution
The SQL dumpfile
command was observed. This command is commonly used to dump database content or query output to a file on disk. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [External] Collection (TA0009 )
-
Technique: Data Staged (T1074 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_sql_db_dump
.
Severity
75
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressactual
— number of SQLdumpfile
queriessrcip_host
— source host namesource_geo.countryName
— source countrydstip_host
— destination host name
Use Case with Data Points
If the SQL dumpfile
command is seen on any source IP address (srcip
), an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), source host (srcip_host
), source country (srcip_geo.countryName
), destination host (dstip_host
), and number of SQL dumpfile
queries in the period (actual
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External SQL Shell Command
Shell commands were observed over a SQL connection, which is a common way hackers try to gain shell access over vulnerable SQL applications. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Persistent Foothold
-
Tactic: [External] Execution (TA0002 )
-
Technique: Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_database_command
.
Severity
40
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressdstip
— destination IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_reputation
— source reputationdstip_host
— destination host namedstip_reputation
— destination reputationmetadata.request.query
— SQL query commandactual
— number of query records from one source to one destination in one period
Use Case with Data Points
For SQL query records, if special commands (such as select mylab_sys_exec
) are found, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), destination IP address (dstip
), source host (srcip_host
), source reputation (srcip_reputation
), destination host (dstip_host
), destination reputation (dstip_reputation
), and SQL query records (metadata.request.query
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External Suspected Malicious User Agent
An external HTTP connection was made by a user agent that has been identified as potentially malicious. Investigate the connection's destination.
This alert type has the following subtypes:
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR User Agent Anomaly (XT2012)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_suspected_malicious_user_agent
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.request.user_agent
— user agent in the HTTP connection requeststellar.confidence
— model's confidence in the predictionsrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
If a seen user agent is identified as suspicious, an alert is triggered. The alert includes the suspicious user agent (metadata.request.user_agent
), confidence (stellar.confidence
), tenant (tenant_name
), source IP (srcip
), and destination IP (dstip
) in the key fields. Additionally, the confidence level of the model is displayed in the alert description in a pop-up box.
Alert Subtype: Predicted Malicious Agent
The Predicted Malicious Agent alert subtype is the same as the External Suspected Malicious User Agent alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The
stellar.anomaly_tag
ispredicted_external
. -
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isexternal_suspected_malicious_user_agent
. -
It is triggered by a machine learning classifier.
Alert Subtype: Known Malicious Agent Match
The Known Malicious Agent Match alert subtype is the same as the External Suspected Malicious User Agent alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The
stellar.anomaly_tag
isknown_external
. -
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isexternal_suspected_malicious_user_agent_known_malicious
. -
It is triggered by known threats.
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External SYN Flood Attacker
An attacker sends a large amount of SYN requests to a target's system in an attempt to consume enough server resources to make the system unresponsive to legitimate traffic.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exfiltration & Impact
-
Tactic: [External] Impact (TA0040 )
-
Technique: Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_syn_flood_attacker
.
Severity
10
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address of the SYN floodsrcip_host
— source host namedstip
— target IP address of the SYN flooddstip_host
— destination host namedstport
— port on target host that received the SYN floodsyn_flood_events
— number of SYN packets during the period
Use Case with Data Points
If an external host (srcip
) sends too many SYN packets (syn_flood_events
) to internal target(s) (dstip
) in a five-minute time window, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the IP address of the source host (srcip
), the IP address of the target host (dstip
), the port of the target host (dstport
), and how many SYN packets were observed (actual
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External SYN Flood Victim
A large amount of SYN requests were observed, which can indicate an attempt to consume server resources and make the target unresponsive. Check to see if the host is malicious or compromised. If so, consider blocking the source host.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exfiltration & Impact
-
Tactic: [External] Impact (TA0040 )
-
Technique: Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_syn_flood
.
Severity
10
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
dstip
— target IP address of the SYN floodsrcip
— source IP address of the SYN floodsrcip_host
— source host namedstip_host
— destination host namedstport
— port on target host that received the SYN floodsyn_flood_events
— number of SYN packets during the period
Use Case with Data Points
If an external host (srcip
) sends too many SYN packets (syn_flood_events
) to internal target(s) (dstip
) in a five-minute time window, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the IP address of the source host (srcip
), the IP address of the target host (dstip
), the port of the target host (dstport
), and how many SYN packets were observed (actual
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External URL Reconnaissance Anomaly
An anomalous number of HTTP 4xx errors were observed. This can indicate an attacker scanning for pages to exploit. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] Reconnaissance (TA0043 )
-
Technique: Active Scanning (T1595 )
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_url_scan
.
Severity
20
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressevent_summary.total_failed
— number of unique URLs with HTTP error status response in the periodevent_summary.total_successful
— number of unique URLs with HTTP success status response in the periodevent_summary.total_fail_ratio
— percent of unique URLs with HTTP error status response in the period, which is:event_summary.total_failed
/ (event_summary.total_failed
+event_summary.total_successful
)weighted_anomaly_score
— net score based on weighted rating of successful versus failed attempts (scanning, login, or other). Scores greater than upper threshold are potentially malicious and less than lower threshold are benign.srcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addresssrcip_geo.countryName
— source country name
Use Case with Data Points
For every unique URL browsed by each source IP address (srcip
), the number of HTTP response failures and successes is calculated periodically. If the number of failures is significantly larger than the number of successes, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source host (srcip_host
), destination host (dstip_host
), and source country (srcip_geo.countryName
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External User Agent Anomaly
An HTTP connection was made by a user agent that has never been seen before (or been seen very rarely). Investigate the connection destination.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR User Agent Anomaly (XT2012)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_user_agent_anomaly
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.request.user_agent
— user agent in the HTTP connection requestdays_silent
— number of days since this user agent was last seensrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
All user agent (metadata.request.user_agent
) HTTP connections having names that do not begin with "Mozilla" or "Aella" are examined. An alert is triggered if any of those agents have not been seen by Stellar Cyber before or have been silent for many days (days_silent
). The Interflow includes all information from the suspicious HTTP connection, such as the application (appid_name
), the source (srcip_host
), and the destination (dstip_host
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External User Application Usage Anomaly
A user who typically uses a small, consistent number of applications used a new application. Investigate the application, to see if it is benign. Check with the user to see if this was expected.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR UBA (XTA0004)
-
Technique: XDR App Anomaly (XT2003)
-
Tags: [External; User Behavior Analytics]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_user_uncommon_app
.
Severity
15
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_usersid
— source user IDappid_name
— application namesrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_family
— application familysrcip_username
— source user namestability
— score measuring the time since the last new application was useddays_stable
— time since the last new application was useddiversity
— score measuring the number of applications that the user usedchild_count
— number of applications that the user used
Use Case with Data Points
An alert is triggered under the following conditions:
-
a user (
srcip_usersid
,srcip_username
) with a small number of applications (diversity
,child_count
) who has not used a new application for a long period of time (stability
,days_stable
), and then -
a new application (
appid_name
) belonging to an application family (appid_family
) appears on a host (scrip_host
) with this user, and -
that host connects to another host (
scrip_host
)
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External User Data Volume Anomaly
A user had an anomalously large volume of traffic compared to its typical volume or that of its peers. Investigate the user to determine if this is expected.
Firewall and non-firewall data do not contribute to the same alert, so this alert will have either entirely firewall data or no firewall data.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR UBA (XTA0004)
-
Technique: XDR Bytes Anomaly (XT3001)
-
Tags: [External; User Behavior Analytics]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_user_bytes_sum
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_usersid
— source user IDactual
— actual traffic volume in the periodtypical
— typical traffic volume from the usersrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addresssrcip_username
— source user namedstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressdstip_reputation
— destination reputationdstip_geo.countryName
— destination countryappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
The total traffic volume of each user identified by user ID (scrip_usersid
) is calculated periodically. If the volume in one period (actual
) is much larger than its normal volume (typical
), an alert is triggered.
The Interflow includes the source IP address (scrip_host
), destination IP address (dstip_host
), destination reputation (dstip_reputation
), destination country (dstip_geo.countryName
), and application of the traffic (appid_name
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
External User Login Failure Anomaly
An anomalous number of login failures was observed for one of the following applications: SSH, SMTP, FTP, RDP, SMB, databases, Active Directory, Office 365, Okta, AWS CloudTrail, or Google Workspace. For Okta, an anomalous number of multi-factor authentication (MFA) failures was observed. Check with the user.
This alert type has the following subtypes:
This alert type has a detection delay for on-time records while maintaining detection coverage for high latency data sources. High latency data will have a detection delay corresponding to their amount of latency.
The expected detection delay is 5-10 minutes, although it could be longer when there is an ingestion delay. Sources without ingestion delays will get their alerts between 5 and 10 minutes after ingestion.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] Credential Access (TA0006 )
-
Technique: Brute Force (T1110 )
-
Tags: [External]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is external_user_login_fail
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressdstip
— destination IP addressdstip_host
— destination host nameevent_summary.total_failed
— number of failed logins in the periodevent_summary.total_successful
— number of successful logins in the periodevent_summary.total_fail_ratio
— percent of failed logins in the period, which is:event_summary.total_failed
/ (event_summary.total_failed
+event_summary.total_successful
)weighted_anomaly_score
— net score based on weighted rating of successful versus failed attempts (scanning, login, or other). Scores greater than upper threshold are potentially malicious and less than lower threshold are benign.login_type
— type of login, such asssh_traffic
,okta_log
, oraws_cloudtrail
srcip_host
— source host namesrcip_reputation
— source reputation
Use Case with Data Points
Login failures and successes are calculated periodically for every source (srcip
) and destination (dstip
) IP address. If the number of failures is significantly larger than the number of successes, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the login type (login_type
), source host (srcip_host
), and source reputation (srcip_reputation
).
Alert Subtype: Office 365 / Entra ID
The Office 365 / Entra ID alert subtype is the same as the External User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from Office 365 and Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isexternal_user_login_fail_o365_azure
.
Alert Subtype: Source IP Based
The Source IP-based alert subtype is the same as the External User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from network traffic, system logs, Linux events, and AWS events.
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isexternal_user_login_fail_srcip
.
Alert Subtype: Destination IP Based
The Destination IP-based alert subtype is the same as the External User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from network traffic, system logs, Linux events, and AWS events.
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isexternal_user_login_fail_dstip
.
Alert Subtype: Kerberos Events
The Kerberos Events alert subtype is the same as the External User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from Kerberos events.
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isexternal_user_login_fail_kerberos
.
Alert Subtype: Source IP Based Windows Logon Events
The Source IP-based Windows Logon Events alert subtype is the same as the External User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from Windows logon events.
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isexternal_user_login_fail_src_win_logon
.
Alert Subtype: Destination IP Based Windows Logon Events
The Destination IP-based Windows Logon Events alert subtype is the same as the External User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from Windows logon events.
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isexternal_user_login_fail_dst_win_logon
.
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Impossible Travel Anomaly
A user logged in from locations that are geographically impossible to travel between in the time frame. Check with the user.
This alert type has a detection delay for on-time records while maintaining detection coverage for high latency data sources. High latency data will have a detection delay corresponding to their amount of latency.
The expected detection delay is 5-10 minutes, although it could be longer when there is an ingestion delay. Sources without ingestion delays will get their alerts between 5 and 10 minutes after ingestion.
For the Impossible Travel Anomaly, there are two chances for ingestion delay, so the slowest of the two records will define the delay. This alert type is also sensitive to the order of user logins.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR UBA (XTA0004)
-
Technique: XDR Location Anomaly (XT2001)
-
Tags: [User Behavior Analytics]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is user_impossible_travel
.
Severity
60
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_usersid
— key ID for the source usersrcip_username
— source user namesrcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_geo
— source IP address geo location, including latitude and longitudedistance_deviation
— deviation in distance (miles) between the two login locationstime_deviation
— deviation in time (seconds) between the two login eventstravel_speed
— calculated speed for the user to travel between the two location (miles/hour)appid_name
— application name for the login eventlast_login_time
— time of 2nd login, event 2 (E2)_id2
— ID of E2_index2
— index of E2srcip2
— source IP address of E2srcip_geo2
— source IP address geo location of E2, including latitude and longitudeengid_gateway
— gateway IP address, used to determine geo location when source IP address is private
Use Case with Data Points
Login events (E1 and E2) are examined for a user (srcip_usersid
), to see if the login locations (srcip_geo
and srcip_geo2
), that are at least 100 miles apart, changed faster (travel_speed
= distance_deviation
/time_deviation
) than possible with the typical commercial flight speed of 600 miles/hour.
E1 is the basis for the Interflow. The srcip_usersid
and srcip_username
identify the user, appid_name
identifies the application, and last_login_time
identifies the time when the 2nd login event happened. You can find detailed information about E2 by checking id2
in index2
, source IP (srcip2
), and geo location (srcip_geo2
).
Internal Brute-Forced Successful User Login
A successful login was observed from an IP address that had previously seen a large number of login failures, or a successful login to a user account was observed from another IP address or IP addresses that had previously seen a large number of login failures to that account. Check with the user.
This alert type has the following subtypes:
This alert type has a relatively long detection delay of up to 40 minutes because it waits for login events from high latency data sources and is sensitive to the event order of user logins.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] Credential Access (TA0006 )
-
Technique: Brute Force (T1110 )
-
Tags: [Internal]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_user_success_brute_forcer
.
Severity
95
Alert Subtype: Source IP Based
The source IP-based alert subtype has the same XDR Kill Chain as the user ID-based alert subtype, but differs in the Key Fields and Relevant Data Points and Use Case with Data Points.
The xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data is internal_user_success_brute_forcer_srcip_usersid
.
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_usersid
— Windows SID associated with the source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_reputation
— source reputationsource_geo.countryName
— source countrydstip_host
— destination host namelogin_type
— type of loginusername
— user namerelated_alert._id
— link to the related Internal User Login Failure Anomaly
Use Case with Data Points
The login records to an internal IP address (dstip
) are checked for every internal source IP address (srcip
). An alert is triggered if that IP address:
-
Has so many failed login attempts that it triggered the Internal User Login Failure Anomaly, and
-
Had a successful login
A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), login type (login_type
), source host name (srcip_host
), source reputation (srcip_reputation
), source country (srcip_geo.countryName
), and user name (username
).
The user ID-based alert subtype has the same XDR Kill Chain as the source IP-based alert subtype, but differs in the Key Fields and Relevant Data Points and Use Case with Data Points.
The xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data is internal_user_success_brute_forcer_srcip
.
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_usersid
— Windows SID associated with the source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_reputation
— source reputationsource_geo.countryName
— source countrydstip_host
— destination host namelogin_type
— type of loginusername
— user namerelated_alert._id
— link to the related Internal Account Login Failure Anomaly
Use Case with Data Points
The login records to a user account (srcip_usersid
) are checked for every internal source IP address (srcip
). An alert is triggered if that user account:
-
Has so many failed login attempts that it triggered the Internal Account Login Failure Anomaly, and
-
Had a successful login
A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), login type (login_type
), source host name (srcip_host
), source reputation (srcip_reputation
), source country (srcip_geo.countryName
), and user name (username
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal Firewall Denial Anomaly
A internal source host had actions blocked by a firewall too many times. Investigate the firewall rules that were violated. If suspicious, block the internal source IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [Internal] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Firewall Anomaly (XT2002)
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis; Firewall Anomalies]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_fw_action
.
Severity
60
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_host
— source host namesrcip
— source IP addressactual
— actual number of firewall denials in the periodtypical
— typical number of firewall denials in the perioddstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressdev_name
— name of the firewallengid_name
— name of the sensor
Use Case with Data Points
The number of firewall denials for every internal source IP address (srcip
) is calculated periodically. If an internal source IP address’s number of firewall denials (actual
) is much larger than the historical count (typical
) of all internal IP addresses, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the name of the firewall (dev_name
), the name of the sensor (engid_name
), and the destination host (dstip_host
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal Firewall Policy Anomaly
A rarely triggered firewall policy involving an internal source IP and internal destination IP has been violated. Investigate that policy and track down the violation.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [Internal] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Firewall Anomaly (XT2002)
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis; Firewall Anomalies]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_fw_policy_id
.
Severity
40
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
fw_policy_id
— ID of the violated firewall policydays_silent
— number of days since this firewall policy was last seensrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressdev_name
— device namedev_type
— device typeengid_name
— sensor name
Use Case with Data Points
A firewall policy violation (fw_policy_id
), which is raised by a device (dev_name
and dev_type
) and captured by a sensor (engid_name
), shows never seen or very rare (days_silent
) traffic between an internal host (srcip_host
) and another internal host (dstip_host
). This violation will trigger an alert.
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal Handshake Failure
There were too many handshake failures between two internal hosts, which might indicate port scanning. Check the source host to see if this was expected, and if not, consider blocking the host.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [Internal] Discovery (TA0007 )
-
Technique: Network Service Scanning (T1046 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_handshake_failure
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address of the host with the handshake failuressrcip_host
— source host namedstip
— destination IP address of the host with the handshake failuresdstip_host
— destination host nametimestamp
— when the scan happened
Use Case with Data Points
If an internal host (srcip
) scans across many ports on another internal host (dstip
), an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the IP address of the potential attacker (srcip
), the IP address of the victim (dstip
), a special message flag (msgtyp
), and when the scan happened (timestamp
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal IP / Port Scan Anomaly
A host has either generated an anomalous number of connections compared to the typical amount, or has triggered an anomalous number of connection failure responses, in the measured interval. This can indicate that an attacker is scanning for computers or ports to exploit. Check with the user.
This alert type has the following subtypes:
XDR Kill Chain
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_port_scan
.
Severity
40
Alert Subtype: Connection Failure Anomaly (Sensor Traffic)
The xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data is connection_failure_anomaly
.
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressnum_failed
— unique number of (destination IP and destination port) tuples that respond with failed statusnum_successful
— unique number of (destination IP and destination port) tuples that respond with success statuspercent_failed
— percent of unique (destination IP and destination port) tuples that respond with failed statusweighted_anomaly_score
— net score based on weighted rating of successful versus failed attempts (scanning, login, or other). Scores greater than upper threshold are potentially malicious and less than lower threshold are benign.dstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
For each internal source IP address (srcip
), the number of unique internal destination IP:port pairs that gave fail responses and the number of unique destination IP:port pairs that gave success responses are calculated periodically. If the number of failures is significantly larger than the number of successes, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source host (srcip_host
), destination host (dstip_host
), and application name (appid_name
).
Validation / Remediation
Check with the user related to the internal source IP address. Inform the user's supervisor if the activity is unauthorized.
Potential False Positives
Some legitimate activities such as vulnerability scans or penetration testing may trigger this alert type.
Alert Subtype: Connection Spike Anomaly (Firewall / Windows Traffic)
Event Name
The xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data is connection_spike_anomaly
.
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressactual
— actual number of connections to the destination IP address in the periodtypical
— typical number of connections to the destination IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
For every unique triplet (source IP address, destination IP address, and destination port) browsed by each source IP address (srcip
), the number of response failures and successes and the number of total data volume are calculated periodically. If the number of failures is significantly larger than the number of successes, or the total data volume is significantly larger than the typical number, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source host (srcip_host
), destination host (dstip_host
), and application name (appid_name
).
Considering that a lateral scan (private to private) is more sensitive than a non-lateral scan, this alert type is divided into two parts. One focuses on lateral scan analysis, the other focuses on non-lateral scan analysis. The mechanism remains the same as before, with the trigger condition for lateral scan alert being more sensitive than non-lateral one.
Validation / Remediation
Check with the user related to the internal source IP address. Inform the user's supervisor if the activity is unauthorized.
Potential False Positives
Some legitimate activities such as vulnerability scans or penetration testing may trigger this alert type.
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal Non-Standard Port Anomaly
An application had an anomalously large number of connections or a rarely seen connection to an internal IP address on non-standard ports. Check the application to be sure this is benign.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [Internal] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Service on Non-Standard Port (XT2011)
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_non_std_port_anomaly
.
Severity
20
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
dstip
— destination IP addressdstport
— destination portappid
— application IDdays_silent
— number of days since the application was last seenappid_name
— application namedstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressactual
— actual number of connections in the periodtypical
— typical number of connections in the period
Use Case with Data Points
The number of connections for an application (dst_ip
+ dstport
+ appid
) to an internal IP address is calculated periodically. If a non-standard combination has an actual number of connections (actual
) that is much larger than the typical number of connections (typical
), or the combination has not appeared for a long time, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source host (srcip_host
), destination IP address (dstip
), destination port (dstport
), application ID (appid
), and application name (appid_name
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal Plain Text Passwords Detected
A plain text password was observed in unencrypted traffic between internal systems. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [Internal] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Clear Password (XT2006)
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_clear_password
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressactual
— actual number of connections with a plain text password in the periodsrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
If there are plain text passwords in traffic records with a public source IP address (srcip
) or destination IP address (dstip
), an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), destination IP address (dstip
), source host (srcip_host
), destination host (dstip_host
), and application (appid_name
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal Protocol Account Login Failure Anomaly
An anomalously large number of login failures between internal IP addresses over SMB or FTP was observed. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] Credential Access (TA0006 )
-
Technique: Brute Force (T1110 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_protocol_account_login_failure
.
Severity
60
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.request.username
— user name in the HTTP connection requestevent_summary.total_failed
— number of failed logins in the periodevent_summary.total_successful
— number of successful logins in the periodevent_summary.total_fail_ratio
— percent of failed logins in the period, which is:event_summary.total_failed
/ (event_summary.total_failed
+event_summary.total_successful
)weighted_anomaly_score
— net score based on weighted rating of successful versus failed attempts (scanning, login, or other). Scores greater than upper threshold are potentially malicious and less than lower threshold are benign.appid_name
— application namelogin_type
— type of loginsrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addresssrcip_reputation
— source reputation
Use Case with Data Points
For every user name (metadata.request.username
) in the HTTP connections names (that do not begin with "Mozilla" or "Aella"), the number of failed and successful logins are calculated periodically. If the number of failed logins is much greater than successful logins, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the application name (appid_name
), login type (login_type
), source host (srcip_host
), and source reputation (srcip_reputation
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal RDP Brute Force Attack
An anomalously large number of RDP connections from internal host(s) to an RDP server were observed. Check the source IP addresses to see if they are unknown or malicious, and monitor any successful RDP logins.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage:Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] Credential Access (TA0006 )
-
Technique: Brute Force (T1110 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_rdp_brute_force
.
Severity
50
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
dstip
— IP address of the destination RDP serverdstip_host
— destination host nameactual
— actual number of RDP connections to the destination IP address in the periodtypical
— typical number of RDP connections to the destination IP address in most time bucketssrcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host name
Use Case with Data Points
RDP connection activity is monitored and the number of connections calculated periodically. If the number of connections from internal host(s) to an RDP server (actual
) is much greater than normal (typical
), an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the destination IP address (dstip
) and source IP address (srcip
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal RDP Suspicious Outbound
Non-standard tools from an internal host connecting to TCP port 3389 in the other internal host were observed. This could indicate lateral movement attempting to establish an RDP connection. Check the IP address and block if necessary.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] Lateral Movement (TA0008)
-
Technique: Remote Services (T1021)
-
Tags: [Internal; RDP]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_rdp_suspicious_outbound
.
Severity
50
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address of the host that connects to TCP port 3389 with a non-standard toolsrcip_host
— source host nameprocess_name
— process name
Use Case with Data Points
Connections to TCP port 3389 are monitored, and if non-standard tools connect, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
) and the process name (process_name
). The following are the standard tools:
- mstsc.exe
- RTSApp.exe
- RTS2App.exe
- RDCMan.exe
- ws_TunnelService.exe
- RSSensor.exe
- RemoteDesktopManagerFree.exe
- RemoteDesktopManager.exe
- RemoteDesktopManager64.exe
- mRemoteNG.exe
- mRemote.exe
- Terminals.exe
- spiceworks-finder.exe
- FSDiscovery.exe
- FSAssessment.exe
- MobaRTE.exe
- chrome.exe
- thor.exe
- thor64.exe
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal SMB Username Enumeration
At least 5 different users SMB login attempts and 1 denied attempt or at least 10 different users SMB login attempts, were observed from an internal IP address to other internal IP address(es). Check the source IP address. If malicious, consider blocking it.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] Credential Access (TA0006 )
-
Technique: Brute Force (T1110 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_smb_user_scan
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressactual
— actual unique SMB user counttypical
— SMB user count thresholdsmb_username_set
— all SMB login user names
Use Case with Data Points
If an internal source IP address (srcip
) has several SMB login attempts with (1) at least 5 unique user names and at least 1 denied attempt or (2) at least 10 unique user names, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), source host (srcip_host)
, destination host (dstip_host
), and all the user names (smb_username_set
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal SMB Read Anomaly
An internal IP address sent an anomalously large number of read requests to an internal SMB protocol based service(s). Investigate the files that this internal IP address tried to read. If suspicious, block the specific internal source IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] Lateral Movement (TA0008 )
-
Technique: Exploitation of Remote Services (T1210 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_smb_read_anomaly
.
Severity
20
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressactual
— actual number of SMB reads from the source IP address in the periodtypical
— typical number of SMB reads from other source IP addresses in the perioddstip_host
— destination host namesmb_username
— SMB user nameevent_summary.smb_path_list
— folders experiencing a high volume of SMB read requests (the first three are shown in the alert description)
Use Case with Data Points
The number of SMB read requests for every internal source IP address (srcip
) is calculated periodically. If a source IP address’s number of SMB reads (actual
) is much larger than the typical number (typical
) and that of other IP addresses in any period, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the SMB user (smb_username
) and destination host (dstip_host
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal SMB Write Anomaly
An internal IP address sent an anomalously large number of SMB write requests to other internal IP address(es). Investigate the files that the IP address tried to write. If suspicious, block the source IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] Lateral Movement (TA0008 )
-
Technique: Remote Services (T1021 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_smb_anomaly
.
Severity
40
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_host
— source host nameactual
— actual number of SMB writes in the periodtypical
— typical number of SMB writes in the perioddstip_host
— destination host namesmb_username
— SMB user nameevent_summary.smb_path_list
— folders experiencing a high volume of SMB write requests (the first three are shown in the alert description)
Use Case with Data Points
The number of SMB write requests to internal IP address(es) for every internal source IP address (srcip_host
) is calculated periodically. If a source IP address’s number of SMB writes (actual
) is much larger than the typical number (typical
) and that of other IP addresses in any period, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the SMB user (smb_username
) and destination host (dstip_host
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal SQL Anomaly
An internal IP address sent an anomalously large number of queries to an internal SQL server. Investigate the queries. If suspicious, block the source IP address.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] Lateral Movement (TA0008 )
-
Technique: Exploitation of Remote Services (T1210 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_mysql_anomaly
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_geo.countryName
— source countryactual
— actual number of SQL queries in the periodtypical
— typical number of SQL queries from the source IP addressdstip_host
— destination host name
Use Case with Data Points
The number of SQL queries for every internal source IP address (srcip_host
) is calculated periodically. If an internal source IP’s SQL query count (actual
) is much larger than the typical count (typical
) and that of other internal IP addresses in any period, an alert is triggered. The internal source IP’s country is (srcip_geo.countryName
). The Interflow includes the internal destination host (dstip_host
) the source IP visits.
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal SQL Dumpfile Execution
The SQL dumpfile
command between two internal IP addresses was observed. This command is commonly used to dump database content or query output to a file on disk. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [Internal] Collection (TA0009 )
-
Technique: Data Staged (T1074 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_sql_db_dump
.
Severity
75
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressactual
— number of SQLdumpfile
queriessrcip_host
— source host namesource_geo.countryName
— source countrydstip_host
— destination host name
Use Case with Data Points
If any SQL dumpfile
commands are detected between an internal source IP address (srcip
) and an internal destination IP address (dstip
), an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), source host (srcip_host
), source country (srcip_geo.countryName
), destination host (dstip_host
), and the number of SQL dumpfile
queries in the period (actual
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal SQL Shell Command
Shell commands were observed over a SQL connection, which is a common way hackers try to gain shell access over vulnerable SQL applications. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Persistent Foothold
-
Tactic: [Internal] Execution (TA0002 )
-
Technique: Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_database_command
.
Severity
70
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressdstip
— destination IP addresssrcip_host
— source host namesrcip_reputation
— source reputationdstip_host
— destination host namedstip_reputation
— destination reputationmetadata.request.query
— SQL query commandactual
— number of query records from one source to one destination in one period
Use Case with Data Points
For SQL query records, if special commands (such as select mylab_sys_exec
) are found, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), destination IP address (dstip
), source host (srcip_host
), source reputation (srcip_reputation
), destination host (dstip_host
), destination reputation (dstip_reputation
), and SQL query records (metadata.request.query
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal Suspected Malicious User Agent
An internal HTTP connection was made by a user agent that has been identified as potentially malicious. Investigate the connection's destination.
This alert type has the following subtypes:
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [Internal] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR User Agent Anomaly (XT2012)
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_suspected_malicious_user_agent
.
Severity
50
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.request.user_agent
— user agent in the HTTP connection requeststellar.confidence
— model's confidence in the prediction used to make the alertsrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
If a seen user agent is identified as suspicious, an alert is triggered. The alert will contain the suspicious user agent (metadata.request.user_agent
), confidence (stellar.confidence
), tenant (tenant_name
), source IP (srcip
), and destination IP (dstip
) in the key fields. Additionally, the confidence level of the model is displayed in the alert description in a pop-up box.
Alert Subtype: Predicted Malicious Agent
The Predicted Malicious Agent alert subtype is the same as the Internal Suspected Malicious User Agent alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The
stellar.anomaly_tag
ispredicted_internal
. -
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isinternal_suspected_malicious_user_agent
. -
It is triggered by a machine learning classifier.
Alert Subtype: Known Malicious Agent Match
The Known Malicious Agent Match alert subtype is the same as the Internal Suspected Malicious User Agent alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The
stellar.anomaly_tag
isknown_internal
. -
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isinternal_suspected_malicious_user_agent_known_malicious
. -
It is triggered by known threats.
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal SYN Flood Attacker
An internal attacker sends a large amount of SYN requests to internal target system(s) in an attempt to consume enough server resources to make the system unresponsive to legitimate traffic.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exfiltration & Impact
-
Tactic: [Internal] Impact (TA0040 )
-
Technique: Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_syn_flood_attacker
.
Severity
25
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address of the SYN floodsrcip_host
— source host namedstip
— target IP address of the SYN flooddstip_host
— destination host namedstport
— port on target host that received the SYN floodsyn_flood_events
— number of SYN packets during the period
Use Case with Data Points
If an internal host (srcip
) sends too many SYN packets (syn_flood_events
) to internal target(s) (dstip
) in a five-minute time window, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the IP address of the source host (srcip
), the IP address of the target host (dstip
), the port of the target host (dstport
), and how many SYN packets were observed (actual
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal SYN Flood Victim
A large amount of SYN requests to an internal target were observed, which can indicate an attempt to consume server resources and make the target unresponsive. Check to see if the host is malicious or compromised. If so, consider blocking the source host.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exfiltration & Impact
-
Tactic: [Internal] Impact (TA0040 )
-
Technique: Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_syn_flood
.
Severity
25
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address for the SYN floodsrcip_host
— source host namedstip
— target IP address of the SYN flooddstip_host
— destination host namedstport
— port on target host that received the SYN floodsyn_flood_events
— number of SYN packets during the period
Use Case with Data Points
If an internal host (srcip
) sends too many SYN packets (syn_flood_events
) to internal target(s) (dstip
) in a five-minute time window, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the IP address of the source host (srcip
), the IP address of the target host (dstip
), the port of the target host (dstport
), and how many SYN packets were observed (actual
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal URL Reconnaissance Anomaly
An anomalous number of HTTP 4xx errors from an internal IP address to other internal IP addresses were observed. This can indicate an attacker scanning for pages to exploit. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [Internal] Discovery (TA0007 )
-
Technique: Network Service Scanning (T1046 )
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_url_scan
.
Severity
50
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressevent_summary.total_failed
— number of unique URLs with HTTP error status response in the periodevent_summary.total_successful
— number of unique URLs with HTTP success status response in the periodevent_summary.total_fail_ratio
— percent of unique URLs with HTTP error status response in the period, which is:event_summary.total_failed
/ (event_summary.total_failed
+event_summary.total_successful
)weighted_anomaly_score
— net score based on weighted rating of successful versus failed attempts (scanning, login, or other). Scores greater than upper threshold are potentially malicious and less than lower threshold are benign.srcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addresssrcip_geo.countryName
— source country name
Use Case with Data Points
For each internal source IP address (srcip
), the number of unique URLs that responded with failure HTTP status and the number of unique URLs that responded with success HTTP status are calculated periodically. If the fail metric is significantly larger than the success metric, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the source host (srcip_host
), destination host (dstip_host
), and source country (srcip_geo.countryName
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal User Agent Anomaly
An internal HTTP connection was made by an internal user agent that has never been seen before (or been seen very rarely). Investigate the connection destination.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [Internal] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR User Agent Anomaly (XT2012)
-
Tags: [Internal; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_user_agent_anomaly
.
Severity
35
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.request.user_agent
— user agent in the HTTP connection requestdays_silent
— number of days since this user agent was last seensrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
All user agents (metadata.request.user_agent
) with internal HTTP connections having names that do not begin with "Mozilla" or "Aella" are examined. An alert is triggered if any of those agents have not been observed by Stellar Cyber before or have been silent for many days (days_silent
). The Interflow includes all information from the suspicious HTTP connection, such as the application (appid_name
), the source host name (srcip_host
), and the destination host name (dstip_host
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal User Application Usage Anomaly
An internal user who usually runs a few applications with internal service IP addresses suddenly runs a new application. Investigate the application to see if it is benign. Check with the user to see if this was expected.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] XDR UBA (XTA0004)
-
Technique: XDR App Anomaly (XT2003)
-
Tags: [Internal; User Behavior Analytics]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_user_uncommon_app
.
Severity
10
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_usersid
— source user IDappid_name
— application namesrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_family
— application familysrcip_username
— source user namestability
— score measuring the time since the last new application was useddays_stable
— time since the last new application was useddiversity
— score measuring the number of applications that the user usedchild_count
— number of applications that the user used
Use Case with Data Points
An alert is triggered under the following conditions:
-
a user (
srcip_usersid
,srcip_username
) with a small number of applications (diversity
,child_count
) who has not used a new application for a long period of time (stability
,days_stable
), and then -
a new application (
appid_name
) belonging to an application family (appid_family
) appears on a host (scrip_host
) with this user, and -
that host connects to another host (
scrip_host
)
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal User Data Volume Anomaly
A user had an anomalously large volume of internal traffic compared to its typical volume or that of its peers. Investigate the user to determine if this is expected.
Firewall and non-firewall data do not contribute to the same alert, so this alert will have either entirely firewall data or no firewall data.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] XDR UBA (XTA0004)
-
Technique: XDR Bytes Anomaly (XT3001)
-
Tags: [Internal; User Behavior Analytics]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_user_bytes_sum
.
Severity
20
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_usersid
— source user IDactual
— actual traffic volume in the periodtypical
— typical traffic volume from the usersrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addresssrcip_username
— source user namedstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressdstip_reputation
— destination reputationdstip_geo.countryName
— destination countryappid_name
— application name
Use Case with Data Points
The total internal traffic volume of each user identified by user ID (scrip_usersid
) is calculated periodically. If the volume in one period (actual
) is much larger than its normal volume (typical
), an alert is triggered.
The Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip_host
), destination IP address (dstip_host
), destination reputation (dstip_reputation
), destination country (dstip_geo.countryName
), and application of the traffic (appid_name
).
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Internal User Login Failure Anomaly
An anomalous number of login failures between internal IP addresses was observed for one of the following applications: SSH, SMTP, FTP, RDP, SMB, databases, Active Directory, Office 365, Okta, AWS CloudTrail, Google Workspace, Salesforce, or Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory). Check with the user.
This alert type has the following subtypes:
This alert type has a detection delay for on-time records while maintaining detection coverage for high latency data sources. High latency data will have a detection delay corresponding to their amount of latency.
The expected detection delay is 5-10 minutes, although it could be longer when there is an ingestion delay. Sources without ingestion delays will get their alerts between 5 and 10 minutes after ingestion.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Propagation
-
Tactic: [Internal] Credential Access (TA0006 )
-
Technique: Brute Force (T1110 )
-
Tags: [Internal]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is internal_user_login_fail
.
Severity
60
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressservice_id
— source domain, workstation, organization, or servicedstip
— destination IP addressdstip_host
— destination host nameevent_summary.total_failed
— number of failed logins in the periodevent_summary.total_successful
— number of successful logins in the periodevent_summary.total_fail_ratio
— percent of failed logins in the period, which is:event_summary.total_failed
/ (event_summary.total_failed
+event_summary.total_successful
)weighted_anomaly_score
— net score based on weighted rating of successful versus failed attempts (scanning, login, or other). Scores greater than upper threshold are potentially malicious and less than lower threshold are benign.login_type
— type of login, such asssh_traffic
,okta_log
, oraws_cloudtrail
srcip_host
— source host namesrcip_reputation
— source reputation
Use Case with Data Points
Login failures and successes between internal IP addresses are calculated periodically for every source (srcip
) and destination (dstip
) IP address. If the number of failures is significantly larger than the number of successes, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the login type (login_type
), source host (srcip_host
), and source reputation (srcip_reputation
).
Alert Subtype: Source IP Based
The Source IP-based alert subtype is the same as the Internal User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from network traffic, system logs, Linux events, and AWS events.
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isinternal_user_login_fail_srcip
.
Alert Subtype: Destination IP Based
The Destination IP-based alert subtype is the same as the Internal User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from network traffic, system logs, Linux events, and AWS events.
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isinternal_user_login_fail_dstip
.
The NTLM Events alert subtype is the same as the Internal User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from NTLM events.
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isinternal_user_login_fail_ntlm
.
Alert Subtype: Kerberos Events
The Kerberos Events alert subtype is the same as the Internal User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from Kerberos events.
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isinternal_user_login_fail_kerberos
.
Alert Subtype: Windows Logon Events
The Windows Logon Events alert subtype is the same as the Internal User Login Failure Anomaly alert type above, with the following differences:
-
The subtype is for data sources from Windows Logon events.
-
The
xdr_event.subtype.name
for this alert subtype in the Interflow data isinternal_user_login_fail_win_logon
.
Stellar Cyber reports both internal and external versions of some alerts, with
different analysis and recommended actions for each. Similarly, IDS signatures report the direction of data flow as inbound
or outbound
. Use the following as a guide for these concepts:
- Addresses with a
srcip_type
ordstip_type
ofprivate
are identified as internal. All other values are identified as external (when applicable; not all alerts have unique analytics for internal/external). - Communications
between hosts where
srcip_type
anddstip_type
are bothprivate
are considered internal communications. - When an anomaly is observed on an internal communication, the attack is considered to be internal.
- Stellar Cyber always sets the
srcip
in the Interflow record as the initiating IP address of an event. Note that IDS signatures, which are reported with relevant alerts, instead list addresses based on the direction of data flow, not the initiating address. So an INBOUND data flow may show thedstip
as the source address and thesrcip
as the destination address, even though thesrcip
was the initiator of the request. Use INBOUND and OUTBOUND information in the signature to understand the direction of data flow, together with Stellar Cyber’s Interflow record ofsrcip
anddstip
to understand which address initiated the threat event.
Login Time Anomaly
A user logged in at an abnormal time. Check with the user.
This alert type has a relatively long detection delay of up to 40 minutes because it waits for login events from high latency data sources and is sensitive to the event order of user logins.
This alert type reads the System Timezone in Global Settings and puts the timezone into the alert descriptions. In Global Settings, set your timezone relative to UTC.
When a Login Time Anomaly occurs, the timezone is bound to the alert description with the following priorities:
-
The timezone inferred from
engid_gateway
takes precedence over the DP timezone, but only when it is present. Ifengid_gateway
is present, the description will use the timezone where the login actually happened. -
If
engid_gateway
is not present, the DP timezone setting is used.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR UBA (XTA0004)
-
Technique: XDR Time Anomaly (XT4005)
-
Tags: [External; User Behavior Analytics]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is user_login_time
.
Severity
40
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_usersid
— key ID of the source useror
event_data.TargetUserName
— name of the user (Windows event)-
The key field for this alert type can be either
srcip_usersid
orevent_data.TargetUserName
, depending on the data feed. srcip_username
— source user namesrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addresssrcip_geo.countryName
— source countryactual_range
— actual login time rangetypical_range
— typical login time range
Use Case with Data Points
Every user's (srcip_usersid
) login time (actual
) is compared to the typical login times (typical_range
). If it is outside the range, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes information such as the source user name (srcip_username
), source host name (srcip_host
), and source country (srcip_geo.countryName
), as well as the destination host (dstip_host
).
Long App Session Anomaly
An application had an anomalously long session compared to its typical session length or that of its peers. Investigate the application to see if this session was expected.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Session Anomaly (XT2005)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is long_session_anomaly
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
appid_name
— application nameactual
— actual maximum session length in the periodtypical
— typical session length from the application’s own historysrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP address
Use Case with Data Points
Every application's (appid_name
) maximum session duration is calculated periodically. If an application’s maximum duration (actual
) is much larger than its normal value (typical
) or the typical value of other applications, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source host (srcip_host
) and destination host (dstip_host
).
Malicious Site Access
A host accessed a URL with a reputation for potentially hosting malware. Check the URL and, if malicious, consider blocking it. Check the host for compromise.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Bad Reputation (XT2010)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is mal_access
.
Severity
60
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address of the host that initiated the site accesssrcip_host
— source host nameurl
— URL that was accessedurl_reputation
— reputation of the accessed URL
Use Case with Data Points
When a host (srcip
) accesses a URL with a reputation (srcip_reputation
) as potential malware hosting (MalAccess
), an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source host IP address (srcip
), the URL accessed (url
), and the reputation of the URL (url_reputation
).
Outbound Destination Country Anomaly
A host that typically communicates with a small, consistent number of countries communicated with a new country. Investigate the destination, to see if it is benign.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XT2005)
-
Technique: XDR Location Anomaly (XT2001)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is country_communication_anomaly
.
Severity
20
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addressdstip_geo.countryName
— name of the destination countrydstip
— destination IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressappid_name
— application namestability
— score measuring the time since the host communicated with the last new countrydays_stable
— time since the host communicated with the last new countrydiversity
— score measuring the number of countries with which the host communicatedchild_count
— number of countries with which the host communicated
Use Case with Data Points
Hosts (srcip_host
) and destination countries (dstip_geo.countryName
) are examined periodically. If a host (srcip_host
) with a small number of destination countries (diversity
, child_count
) has not visited a new country for a long time (stability
, days_stable
) visits a host (dstip_host
) in a new country with an application (appid_name
), an alert is triggered.
Outbytes Anomaly
A source IP address transmitted an anomalously high amount of outbound traffic to one or multiple destination addresses in a 5 minute interval. This could indicate data exfiltration.
Firewall and non-firewall data do not contribute to the same alert, so this alert will have either entirely firewall data or no firewall data.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exfiltration & Impact
-
Tactic: Exfiltration (TA0010 )
-
Technique: Automated Exfiltration (T1020 )
-
Tags: [Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is outbytes_anomaly
.
Severity
35
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_host
— source host namesrcip
— source IP addressactual
— actual amount of outbound traffic in the periodtypical
— typical amount of outbound traffic from the source IP addressdstip_host
— destination host name
Use Case with Data Points
Every source host's (srcip_host
) transferred data volume is calculated periodically. If a host's volume (actual
) is much higher than its normal volume (typical
) in any period, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the destination host (dstip_host
).
Phishing URL
A connection to a site with a phishing reputation was observed. Check with the user to determine whether their system is compromised.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: Initial Access (TA0001 )
-
Technique: Phishing (T1566 )
-
Tags: [Phishing; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is phishing
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP address of the connection to the phishing URL reputation sitedstip
— destination IP address of the phishing URL reputation siteurl
— URL of the phishing sitedstip_host
— destination host namemetadata.response.subject_alt_name
— Subject Alternative Name of the phishing siteusername
— name of the visitordstip_geo.countryName
— destination countrysrcip_host
— source host name
Use Case with Data Points
If a connection from a source (scrip
) to a site with a phishing reputation is detected, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), source host (srcip_host
), destination IP address (dstip
), destination host (dstip_host
), URL of the site (url
), destination country (dstip_geo.countryName
), Subject Alternative Name of the site (metadata.response.subject_alt_name
), and user name (username
).
Possible Encrypted Phishing Site Visit
A possible phishing site visit to a recently registered domain was observed in encrypted traffic. Check with the user to determine whether their system is compromised.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: Initial Access (TA0001 )
-
Technique: Phishing (T1566 )
-
Tags: [Phishing; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is encrypted_phishing_site
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.response.effective_tld
— effective top-level domain of the possible phishing sitesrcip
— IP address of the visitor to the possible phishing sitedstip
— IP address of the possible phishing sitesrcip_host
— source host namedstip_host
— destination host namedstip_geo.countryName
— destination country
Use Case with Data Points
If an encrypted connection to a recently registered site (metadata.response.effective_tld
) is observed, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), source host (srcip_host
), destination IP address (dstip
), destination host (dstip_host
), destination country (dstip_geo.countryName
), and effective top-level domain of the site (metadata.response.effective_tld
).
Possible Phishing Site Visit from Email
A user visited a recently registered domain shortly after using email, indicating a possible phishing site visit. Check to see if the site is malicious. If so, check with the user to see if they are compromised.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: Initial Access (TA0001 )
-
Technique: Phishing (T1566 )
-
Tags: [Phishing; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is email_recent_domain_correlation
.
Severity
70
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
recent_domain_id
— ID that points to the original record of the recently registered domain visitemail_traffic_id
— ID that points to the original record of email trafficcorrelation_info.appid_name
— application on the visited domain accessed by the usercorrelation_info.srcip
— IP address of the usercorrelation_info.dstip
— IP address of the recently registered domain (useful if thecorrelation_info.appid_name
is not DNS)correlation_info.dstip_host
— recently registered domain that was visited (useful if thecorrelation_info.appid_name
is not DNS)correlation_info.metadata.response.query
— recently registered domain name the victim queried in DNS traffic (useful if thecorrelation_info.appid_name
is DNS)-
correlation_info.metadata.response.resolved_ips
— IPs of the recently registered domain name the victim queried in DNS traffic. This field only useful ifcorrelation_info.appid_name
is DNS.
Use Case with Data Points
If a user (srcip
) uses email (appid_name
) and then either queries a recently registered (metadata.response.domain_creation
) domain (metadata.response.query
) or visits a recently registered (dstip_domain_creation
) domain (dstip_host
), an alert is triggered.
When an alert is triggered, a new correlation event is created. The Interflow includes the reference ID of the original record of the domain visit (recent_domain_id
), the reference ID pointing to the original record of email traffic (email_traffic_id
), the IP address of the user (correlation_info.srcip
), the application involved in the recently registered site visit (correlation_info.appid_name
), and the visited domain (correlation_info.dstip_host
or correlation_info.metadata.response.query
).
Possible Unencrypted Phishing Site Visit
A possible phishing site visit to a recently registered domain was observed in unencrypted traffic. Check with the user to determine whether their system is compromised.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: Initial Access (TA0001 )
-
Technique: Phishing (T1566 )
-
Tags: [Phishing; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is unencrypted_phishing_site
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.response.effective_tld
— effective top-level domain of the possible phishing sitesrcip
— IP address of the visitor to the phishing sitedstip
— IP address of the possible phishing sitesrcip_host
— source host namedstip_host
— destination host namedstip_geo.countryName
— destination country
Use Case with Data Points
If an unencrypted connection to a recently registered site (metadata.response.effective_tld
) is detected, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the source IP address (srcip
), source host (srcip_host
), destination IP address (dstip
), destination host (dstip_host
), destination country (dstip_geo.countryName
), and effective top-level domain of the site (metadata.response.effective_tld
).
RDP Outbytes Anomaly
An internal host transferred an anomalously high amount of data to external host(s) through RDP. This could indicate data exfiltration. Check with the user.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exfiltration & Impact
-
Tactic: Exfiltration (TA0010 )
-
Technique: Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol (T1048 )
-
Tags: [Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is rdp_outbytes_anomaly
.
Severity
30
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
dstip
— destination IP addressdstip_host
— destination host nameactual
— actual amount of outbound traffic in the periodtypical
— typical amount of outbound traffic from the destination IP addresssrcip_host
— source IP address that initiates the RDP connection
Use Case with Data Points
Every destination host's (dstip
) transferred data volume through RDP is calculated periodically. If a host's volume (actual
) is much greater than normal (typical
) in any period, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the destination host (dstip_host
).
RDP Reverse Tunnel
An svchost
hosting RDP termsvcs
communicating with the loopback address on TCP port 3389 was observed. Check the IP address and block if necessary.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Persistent Foothold
-
Tactic: Command and Control (TA0011 )
-
Technique: Protocol Tunneling (T1572 )
-
Tags: [RDP]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is rdp_reverse_tunnel
.
Severity
80
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
hostip
— host IP addresshostip_host
— host nameevent_data.Image
— process communicating with the loopback address
Use Case with Data Points
If an svchost hosting RDP termsvcs communicating with the loopback address is found on TCP port 3389, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the host IP address (hostip
) and host name (hostip_host
).
Recently Registered Domains
A DNS request was observed for a site that was registered less than 90 days ago. Check the domain. If suspicious, notify users.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR New Domain (XT2008)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is new_registered_domain
.
Severity
50
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
metadata.request.effective_tld
— top-level domain name in the requestsrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressdstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressmetadata.response.domain_creation
— domain creation timemetadata.response.effective_tld
— top-level domain name in the responsemetadata.response.resolved_ips
— list of resolved IP addressesactual
— number of visits to the domain in the perioddomain_creation
— domain creation timedns.question.registered_domain
— highest registered domaindns.question.name
— domain name in request
Use Case with Data Points
If a domain has been registered within the last 90 days, an alert is triggered. A sample Interflow includes the domain name (metadata.request.effective_tld
), source host (srcip_host
), destination host (dstip_host
), and domain creation time (metadata.response.domain_creation
).
Scanner Reputation Anomaly
An anomalously large amount of connections were observed from an IP address with a reputation of being a scanner. Cross-check with the IP/Port Scan Anomaly alert, and check the links and content for possible spam or phishing.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: Reconnaissance (TA0043 )
-
Technique: Active Scanning (T1595 )
-
Tags: [Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is scanner_rep
.
Severity
20
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addresssrcip_reputation
— source reputationsrcip_geo.countryName
— source countryactual
— actual number of connections from this source in the periodtypical
— typical number of connections from this source in the perioddstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP address
Use Case with Data Points
The number of connections from a source IP address (srcip_host
) with a reputation as a scanner (srcip_reputation
) is calculated every 5 minutes. If the number of connections (actual
) is much greater than normal (typical
), an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes information such as the source country (srcip_geo.countryName
) and a destination (dstip_host
).
Uncommon Application Anomaly
Private (internal assets) to public (Internet) traffic has revealed an application that has never been seen before (or been seen very rarely). Investigate that application and ensure that it is benign.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR App Anomaly (XT2003)
-
Tags: [External; Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is network_uncommon_app
.
Severity
20
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
appid
— application IDappid_name
— application namedays_silent
— number of days since this application was last seensrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addresssrcip_reputation
— source reputationsrcip_geo.countryName
— source countrydstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addressdstip_reputation
— destination reputationdstip_geo.countryName
— destination country
Use Case with Data Points
If an application (appid
) has never been observed by Stellar Cyber or been seen very rarely (days_silent
), an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the internal assets (srcip_host
), source reputation (srcip_reputation
), and source country (srcip_geo.countryName
), and the destination host (dstip_host
), destination reputation (dstip_reputation
), and destination country (dstip_geo.countryName
).
User Login Location Anomaly
A login to a user account occurred from a source IP address that is anomalously distant from the nearest location typically observed for logins to that user account.
This alert type has a detection delay for on-time records while maintaining detection coverage for high latency data sources. High latency data will have a detection delay corresponding to their amount of latency.
The expected detection delay is 5-10 minutes, although it could be longer when there is an ingestion delay. Sources without ingestion delays will get their alerts between 5 and 10 minutes after ingestion.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR UBA (XTA0004)
-
Technique: XDR Location Anomaly (XT2001)
-
Tags: [External; User Behavior Analytics]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is user_login_region
.
Severity
50
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip_usersid
— key ID for the source userdistance_deviation
— deviation in distance between two login locations (miles)srcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addresssrcip_reputation
— source reputationsrcip_geo.countryName
— source country namesrcip_geo.region
— source region namesrcip_geo.city
— source city namedstip_host
— host name of corresponding destination IP addresslogin_type
— type of login
Use Case with Data Points
Successful login events for certain login types (login_type
) of a user (srcip_usersid
) from a source host (srcip_host
) and country location (srcip_geo.countryName
are examined. If the detected login location is too far away (distance_deviation
in miles) from that user's typical locations, an alert is triggered. The source host's reputation (srcip_reputation
) is also checked. Map views of the Interflow include data points for the closest typical
login locations for the user.
WAF Internal Attacker Anomaly
Internal web requests from a private IP address have been blocked/alerted by the Web Application Firewall (WAF). Investigate the source requester and ensure they are not compromised.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Exploration
-
Tactic: [Internal] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR WAF Anomaly (XT2009)
-
Tags: [Internal]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is waf_internal_attacker
.
Severity
60
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
srcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressaction
— status of web requestsevent.severity_str
— severity level of web requestsevent.uri
— URI of the web requestevent.reason
— attack type (signature name)
The above fields are standardized to support a variety of WAFs. The original fields, listed below, remain in the F5 WAF Interflow record for backward compatibility.
Use Case with Data Points
If web requests (f5.uri) from an internal IP address (srcip) to a web application (f5.web_application_name) have been blocked/alerted (f5.request_status) by the WAF, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the level of severity (f5.severity), the attack type (f5.attack_type), and the violation information (f5.violations), as well as signature name (f5.sig_names), staged signature name (f5.staged_sig_names), sub violation information (f5.sub_violations), and threat campaign name (f5.violation_details_xml.request-violations.violation.threat_campaign_data.threat_campaign_name), if applicable.
If web requests (event.uri
) from an internal IP address ( srcip
) to a web application (event.web_application_name
) have been blocked/alerted (action
) by the WAF, an alert is triggered. The Interflow includes the level of severity (event.severity_str
), the attack type (threat
), and the violation information (event.description
), as well as signature name (event.reason
). If applicable for the WAF type, the Interflow also includes staged signature name (event.staged_sig_id
), sub violation information (event.sub_violations
), and threat campaign name (event.threat_campaign.names
).
Ingestion Types Supported for this Alert
-
F5 Big-IP Firewall
-
F5 Silverline WAF
-
Barracuda WAF
-
AWS CloudWatch WAF
WAF Rule Violation Anomaly
Web requests have been blocked/alerted by the Web Application Firewall (WAF) due to a surge in violations or violating a rule that is rarely invoked. Investigate the blocked/alerted web requests and ensure they are benign.
Refer to Log Parser Portsfor the most current list of WAF parsers.
XDR Kill Chain
-
Kill Chain Stage: Initial Attempts
-
Tactic: [External] XDR NBA (XTA0002)
-
Technique: XDR Rule Violation (XT2004)
-
Tags: [External; Network Traffic Analysis]
Event Name
The xdr_event.name
for this alert type in the Interflow data is waf_rule_violation
.
Severity
50
Key Fields and Relevant Data Points
event.sig_id
— signature IDsrcip
— source IP addresssrcip_host
— host name of corresponding source IP addressevent.severity_str
— severity level of web requestsevent.web_application_name
— web application nameevent.uri
— URI of the web requestevent.reason
— signature nameactual
— actual number of specific WAF violations in the periodtypical
— typical number of specific WAF violations in the period
The above fields are standardized to support a variety of WAFs. The original fields, listed below, remain in the F5 WAF Interflow record for backward compatibility.
Use Case with Data Points
If web requests (event.uri
) to a web application ( event.web_application_name
) have been blocked/alerted (action
) by the WAF due to violating certain rules, which include the level of severity (event.severity_str
), the attack type (threat
), and the violation information (event.violations
). If the violations (actual
) surge compared to the normal number of violations in a period (typical
), an alert is triggered.
Ingestion Types Supported for this Alert
F5 Big-IP Firewall
F5 Silverline WAF
Barracuda WAF
AWS CloudWatch WAF