Palo Alto - potential beaconing detected

Status: available
Severity: low
Time window: 1h
Group by: FirewallName_s, Message, TimeDeltainSeconds
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

'Identifies beaconing patterns from Palo Alto Network traffic logs based on recurrent timedelta patterns. The query leverages various KQL functions to calculate time deltas and then compares it with total events observed in a day to find percentage of beaconing. This outbound beaconing pattern to untrusted public networks should be investigated for any malware callbacks or data exfiltration attempts. Reference Blog: http://www.austintaylor.io/detect/beaconing/intrusion/detection/system/command/control/flare/elastic/stack/2017/06/10/detect-beaconing-with-flare-elasticsearch-and-intrusion-detection-systems/ https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-sentinel-blog/detect-network-beaconing-via-intra-request-time-delta-patterns/ba-p/779586'

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Command & Control	`T1071` Application Layer Protocol, `T1571` Non-Standard Port

Rule body kusto

id: f0be259a-34ac-4946-aa15-ca2b115d5feb
name: Palo Alto - potential beaconing detected
description: |
  'Identifies beaconing patterns from Palo Alto Network traffic logs based on recurrent timedelta patterns.
  The query leverages various KQL functions to calculate time deltas and then compares it with total events observed in a day to find percentage of beaconing.
  This outbound beaconing pattern to untrusted public networks should be investigated for any malware callbacks or data exfiltration attempts.
  Reference Blog:
  http://www.austintaylor.io/detect/beaconing/intrusion/detection/system/command/control/flare/elastic/stack/2017/06/10/detect-beaconing-with-flare-elasticsearch-and-intrusion-detection-systems/
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-sentinel-blog/detect-network-beaconing-via-intra-request-time-delta-patterns/ba-p/779586'
severity: Low
status: Available
requiredDataConnectors:
  - connectorId: AzureCloudNGFWByPaloAltoNetworks
    dataTypes:
      - fluentbit_CL
queryFrequency: 1d
queryPeriod: 2d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
tactics:
  - CommandAndControl
relevantTechniques:
  - T1071
  - T1571
query: |
  let starttime = 2d;
  let endtime = 1d;
  let TimeDeltaThreshold = 25;
  let TotalEventsThreshold = 30;
  let MostFrequentTimeDeltaThreshold = 25;
  let PercentBeaconThreshold = 80;
  fluentbit_CL
  | where ident_s == "TRAFFIC"
  | where TimeGenerated between (startofday(ago(starttime))..startofday(ago(endtime)))
  | where ipv4_is_private(tostring(parse_json(Message).dst_ip)) == false
  | project TimeGenerated, FirewallName_s, parse_json(Message).src_ip, parse_json(Message).sport, parse_json(Message).dst_ip, parse_json(Message).dport,Message
  | sort by tostring(parse_json(Message).src_ip) asc, TimeGenerated asc, tostring(parse_json(Message).dst_ip) asc, tostring(parse_json(Message).dport) asc
  | extend src_ip=tostring(parse_json(Message).src_ip)
  | serialize
  | extend nextTimeGenerated = next(TimeGenerated, 1), nextSourceIP = next(src_ip, 1)
  | extend TimeDeltainSeconds = datetime_diff('second', nextTimeGenerated, TimeGenerated)
  | where parse_json(Message).src_ip == nextSourceIP
  | where TimeDeltainSeconds > TimeDeltaThreshold
  | summarize count() by TimeDeltainSeconds, bin(TimeGenerated, 1h), FirewallName_s, tostring(parse_json(Message).src_ip), tostring(parse_json(Message).dst_ip), tostring(parse_json(Message).dport),Message
  | summarize (MostFrequentTimeDeltaCount, MostFrequentTimeDeltainSeconds) = arg_max(count_, TimeDeltainSeconds), TotalEvents=sum(count_)
  by bin(TimeGenerated, 1h), FirewallName_s, tostring(parse_json(Message).src_ip), tostring(parse_json(Message).dst_ip), tostring(parse_json(Message).dport),Message
  | where TotalEvents > TotalEventsThreshold and MostFrequentTimeDeltaCount > MostFrequentTimeDeltaThreshold
  | extend BeaconPercent = MostFrequentTimeDeltaCount/toreal(TotalEvents) * 100
  | where BeaconPercent > PercentBeaconThreshold
  | extend IPAddress = tostring(parse_json(Message).dst_ip)
  | extend HostName = tostring(split(FirewallName_s, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(FirewallName_s, '.'))
  | extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(FirewallName_s, DomainIndex + 1), FirewallName_s)
entityMappings:
  - entityType: Host
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: FirewallName_s
      - identifier: HostName
        columnName: HostName
      - identifier: DnsDomain
        columnName: HostNameDomain
  - entityType: IP
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Address
        columnName: IPAddress
version: 1.0.4
kind: Scheduled

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

let starttime = 2d;
let endtime = 1d;
let TimeDeltaThreshold = 25;
let TotalEventsThreshold = 30;
let MostFrequentTimeDeltaThreshold = 25;
let PercentBeaconThreshold = 80;

Stage 1: `source`

fluentbit_CL

Stage 2: `where`

| where ident_s == "TRAFFIC"

Stage 3: `where`

| where TimeGenerated between (startofday(ago(starttime))..startofday(ago(endtime)))

Stage 4: `where`

| where ipv4_is_private(tostring(parse_json(Message).dst_ip)) == false

Stage 5: `project`

| project TimeGenerated, FirewallName_s, parse_json(Message).src_ip, parse_json(Message).sport, parse_json(Message).dst_ip, parse_json(Message).dport,Message

Stage 6: `sort`

| sort by tostring(parse_json(Message).src_ip) asc, TimeGenerated asc, tostring(parse_json(Message).dst_ip) asc, tostring(parse_json(Message).dport) asc

Stage 7: `extend`

| extend src_ip=tostring(parse_json(Message).src_ip)

Stage 8: `kusto:serialize`

| serialize

Stage 9: `extend`

| extend nextTimeGenerated = next(TimeGenerated, 1), nextSourceIP = next(src_ip, 1)

Stage 10: `extend`

| extend TimeDeltainSeconds = datetime_diff('second', nextTimeGenerated, TimeGenerated)

Stage 11: `where`

| where parse_json(Message).src_ip == nextSourceIP

Stage 12: `where`

| where TimeDeltainSeconds > TimeDeltaThreshold

Stage 13: `summarize`

| summarize count() by TimeDeltainSeconds, bin(TimeGenerated, 1h), FirewallName_s, tostring(parse_json(Message).src_ip), tostring(parse_json(Message).dst_ip), tostring(parse_json(Message).dport),Message

Stage 14: `summarize`

| summarize (MostFrequentTimeDeltaCount, MostFrequentTimeDeltainSeconds) = arg_max(count_, TimeDeltainSeconds), TotalEvents=sum(count_)
by bin(TimeGenerated, 1h), FirewallName_s, tostring(parse_json(Message).src_ip), tostring(parse_json(Message).dst_ip), tostring(parse_json(Message).dport),Message

Threshold: gt 30

Stage 15: `where`

| where TotalEvents > TotalEventsThreshold and MostFrequentTimeDeltaCount > MostFrequentTimeDeltaThreshold

Stage 16: `extend`

| extend BeaconPercent = MostFrequentTimeDeltaCount/toreal(TotalEvents) * 100

Stage 17: `where`

| where BeaconPercent > PercentBeaconThreshold

Stage 18: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

| extend IPAddress = tostring(parse_json(Message).dst_ip)
| extend HostName = tostring(split(FirewallName_s, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(FirewallName_s, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(FirewallName_s, DomainIndex + 1), FirewallName_s)

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

Field	Kind	Values
`BeaconPercent`	gt	`80` transforms: `cased`
`MostFrequentTimeDeltaCount`	gt	`25` transforms: `cased`
`TimeDeltainSeconds`	gt	`25` transforms: `cased`
`TotalEvents`	gt	`30` transforms: `cased`
`ident_s`	eq	`TRAFFIC` transforms: `cased`
`src_ip`	eq	`nextSourceIP` transforms: `cased`

Output fields

Fields the rule emits when it matches. Chronicle authors list these in the outcome block; they appear on the detection and $risk_score drives alerting. Sentinel / Defender XDR rules build them up through project / summarize / extend stages. Sentinel maps these into alert fields via entityMappings and customDetails; Defender XDR custom detections surface them as alert fields directly.

Field	Source
`FirewallName_s`	`summarize`
`Message`	`summarize`
`MostFrequentTimeDeltaCount`	`summarize`
`TotalEvents`	`summarize`
`BeaconPercent`	`extend`
`IPAddress`	`extend`
`DomainIndex`	`extend`
`HostName`	`extend`
`HostNameDomain`	`extend`

`j` / `k`	Scroll down / up
`d` / `u`	Half-page down / up
`gg` / `G`	Top / bottom
`h` / `l`	History back / forward
`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
`Esc`	Close results / dialog

`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)

Palo Alto - potential beaconing detected

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `where`

Stage 5: `project`

Stage 6: `sort`

Stage 7: `extend`

Stage 8: `kusto:serialize`

Stage 9: `extend`

Stage 10: `extend`

Stage 11: `where`

Stage 12: `where`

Stage 13: `summarize`

Stage 14: `summarize`

Stage 15: `where`

Stage 16: `extend`

Stage 17: `where`

Stage 18: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Palo Alto - potential beaconing detected

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Stage 1: source

Stage 2: where

Stage 3: where

Stage 4: where

Stage 5: project

Stage 6: sort

Stage 7: extend

Stage 8: kusto:serialize

Stage 9: extend

Stage 10: extend

Stage 11: where

Stage 12: where

Stage 13: summarize

Stage 14: summarize

Stage 15: where

Stage 16: extend

Stage 17: where

Stage 18: extend (3 consecutive steps)

Indicators

Output fields

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `where`

Stage 5: `project`

Stage 6: `sort`

Stage 7: `extend`

Stage 8: `kusto:serialize`

Stage 9: `extend`

Stage 10: `extend`

Stage 11: `where`

Stage 12: `where`

Stage 13: `summarize`

Stage 14: `summarize`

Stage 15: `where`

Stage 16: `extend`

Stage 17: `where`

Stage 18: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)