Detection rules › Kusto
TI map Domain entity to DnsEvents
Identifies a match in DnsEvents from any Domain IOC from TI
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Command & Control | T1071 Application Layer Protocol |
Rule body kusto
id: 03a8e294-3fc7-4d65-9da2-cff91fb5b6dc
name: TI map Domain entity to DnsEvents
description: |
Identifies a match in DnsEvents from any Domain IOC from TI
severity: Medium
requiredDataConnectors:
- connectorId: DNS
dataTypes:
- DnsEvents
- connectorId: ThreatIntelligence
dataTypes:
- ThreatIntelIndicators
- connectorId: ThreatIntelligenceTaxii
dataTypes:
- ThreatIntelIndicators
- connectorId: MicrosoftDefenderThreatIntelligence
dataTypes:
- ThreatIntelIndicators
queryFrequency: 1h
queryPeriod: 14d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
tactics:
- CommandAndControl
relevantTechniques:
- T1071
query: |
// Define the lookback periods for time-based filters
let dt_lookBack = 1h; // Look back 1 hour for DNS events
let ioc_lookBack = 14d; // Look back 14 days for threat intelligence indicators
// Fetch threat intelligence indicators related to domains
let Domain_Indicators = ThreatIntelIndicators
// Filter out indicators without domain names
| extend IndicatorType = replace(@"\[|\]|\""", "", tostring(split(ObservableKey, ":", 0)))
| where IndicatorType == "domain-name"
| extend DomainName = tolower(ObservableValue)
| extend TrafficLightProtocolLevel = tostring(parse_json(AdditionalFields).TLPLevel)
| extend Url = iff(ObservableKey == "url:value", ObservableValue, "")
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(ioc_lookBack)
| summarize LatestIndicatorTime = arg_max(TimeGenerated, *) by Id, ObservableValue
| where IsActive and (ValidUntil > now() or isempty(ValidUntil));
// Create a list of TLDs in our threat feed for later validation
let maxListSize = 100000; // Define the maximum allowed size for each list
let list_tlds = Domain_Indicators
| extend parts = split(DomainName, '.')
| extend tld = parts[(array_length(parts)-1)]
| extend IndicatorId = tostring(split(Id, "--")[2])
| summarize count() by tostring(tld)
| project tld
| summarize make_list(tld, maxListSize);
// Perform a join between domain indicators and DNS events to identify potential malicious activity
Domain_Indicators
| project-reorder *, IsActive, Tags, TrafficLightProtocolLevel, DomainName, Type
// Use innerunique to keep performance fast and result set low, as we only need one match to indicate potential malicious activity that needs investigation
| join kind=innerunique (
DnsEvents
| where TimeGenerated > ago(dt_lookBack)
// Extract domain patterns from syslog message
| where isnotempty(Name)
| extend parts = split(Name, '.')
| extend tld = parts[(array_length(parts)-1)]
// Validate parsed domain by checking if the TLD is in the list of TLDs in our threat feed
| where tld in~ (list_tlds)
| extend DNS_TimeGenerated = TimeGenerated
) on $left.DomainName==$right.Name
// Filter out DNS events that occurred after the expiration of the corresponding indicator
| where DNS_TimeGenerated < ValidUntil
// Group the results by IndicatorId and Name, and keep the DNS event with the latest timestamp
| summarize DNS_TimeGenerated = arg_max(DNS_TimeGenerated, *) by Id, Name
// Select the desired output fields
| extend ActivityGroupNames = extract(@"ActivityGroup:(\S+)", 1, tostring(parse_json(Data).labels))
| project DNS_TimeGenerated, Description, ActivityGroupNames, Id, ValidUntil, Confidence, Url, Computer, ClientIP//, Name, QueryType, Type, DomainName
// Extract hostname and DNS domain from the Computer field
| extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, '.', 0)[0]), DnsDomain = tostring(strcat_array(array_slice(split(Computer, '.'), 1, -1), '.'))
// Rename the timestamp field
| extend timestamp = DNS_TimeGenerated
entityMappings:
- entityType: Host
fieldMappings:
- identifier: FullName
columnName: Computer
- identifier: HostName
columnName: HostName
- identifier: DnsDomain
columnName: DnsDomain
- entityType: IP
fieldMappings:
- identifier: Address
columnName: ClientIP
- entityType: URL
fieldMappings:
- identifier: Url
columnName: Url
version: 1.4.6
kind: Scheduled
Stages and Predicates
Parameters
let dt_lookBack = 1h;
let ioc_lookBack = 14d;
let maxListSize = 100000;
Let binding: list_tlds
let list_tlds = Domain_Indicators
| extend parts = split(DomainName, '.')
| extend tld = parts[(array_length(parts)-1)]
| extend IndicatorId = tostring(split(Id, "--")[2])
| summarize count() by tostring(tld)
| project tld
| summarize make_list(tld, maxListSize);
Derived from Domain_Indicators, maxListSize.
The stages below define let Domain_Indicators (the rule's main pipeline source).
Stage 1: source
ThreatIntelIndicators
Stage 2: extend
| extend IndicatorType = replace(@"\[|\]|\""", "", tostring(split(ObservableKey, ":", 0)))
Stage 3: where
| where IndicatorType == "domain-name"
Stage 4: extend (3 consecutive steps)
| extend DomainName = tolower(ObservableValue)
| extend TrafficLightProtocolLevel = tostring(parse_json(AdditionalFields).TLPLevel)
| extend Url = iff(ObservableKey == "url:value", ObservableValue, "")
Stage 5: where
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(ioc_lookBack)
Stage 6: summarize
| summarize LatestIndicatorTime = arg_max(TimeGenerated, *) by Id, ObservableValue
Stage 7: where
| where IsActive and (ValidUntil > now() or isempty(ValidUntil))
The stages below run on Domain_Indicators (the outer pipeline).
Stage 8: project-reorder
Domain_Indicators
| project-reorder *, IsActive, Tags, TrafficLightProtocolLevel, DomainName, Type
Stage 9: join
| join kind=innerunique (
DnsEvents
| where TimeGenerated > ago(dt_lookBack)
| where isnotempty(Name)
| extend parts = split(Name, '.')
| extend tld = parts[(array_length(parts)-1)]
| where tld in~ (list_tlds)
| extend DNS_TimeGenerated = TimeGenerated
) on $left.DomainName==$right.Name
Stage 10: where
| where DNS_TimeGenerated < ValidUntil
Stage 11: summarize
| summarize DNS_TimeGenerated = arg_max(DNS_TimeGenerated, *) by Id, Name
Stage 12: extend
| extend ActivityGroupNames = extract(@"ActivityGroup:(\S+)", 1, tostring(parse_json(Data).labels))
Stage 13: project
| project DNS_TimeGenerated, Description, ActivityGroupNames, Id, ValidUntil, Confidence, Url, Computer, ClientIP
Stage 14: extend
| extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, '.', 0)[0]), DnsDomain = tostring(strcat_array(array_slice(split(Computer, '.'), 1, -1), '.'))
Stage 15: extend
| extend timestamp = DNS_TimeGenerated
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 |
|---|---|---|
DNS_TimeGenerated | lt |
|
IndicatorType | eq |
|
Name | is_not_null | |
ValidUntil | is_null | |
tld | in |
|
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 |
|---|---|
ActivityGroupNames | project |
ClientIP | project |
Computer | project |
Confidence | project |
DNS_TimeGenerated | project |
Description | project |
Id | project |
Url | project |
ValidUntil | project |
DnsDomain | extend |
HostName | extend |
timestamp | extend |