NRT Creation of expensive computes in Azure

Status: available
Severity: medium
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

Identifies the creation of large size or expensive VMs (with GPUs or with a large number of virtual CPUs) in Azure. An adversary may create new or update existing virtual machines to evade defenses or use them for cryptomining purposes. For Windows/Linux Vm Sizes, see https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/virtual-machines/windows/sizes Azure VM Naming Conventions, see https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/virtual-machines/vm-naming-conventions

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Defense Impairment	`T1578` Modify Cloud Compute Infrastructure

Event coverage

Provider	Event
Azure-Microsoft.Compute	Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write
Azure-Microsoft.Resources	Microsoft.Resources/deployments/write

Rule body kusto

id: 56fe0db0-6779-46fa-b3c5-006082a53064
name: NRT Creation of expensive computes in Azure
description: |
  'Identifies the creation of large size or expensive VMs (with GPUs or with a large number of virtual CPUs) in Azure.
  An adversary may create new or update existing virtual machines to evade defenses or use them for cryptomining purposes.
  For Windows/Linux Vm Sizes, see https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/virtual-machines/windows/sizes 
  Azure VM Naming Conventions, see https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/virtual-machines/vm-naming-conventions'
severity: Medium
status: Available 
requiredDataConnectors:
  - connectorId: AzureActivity
    dataTypes:
      - AzureActivity
tactics:
  - DefenseEvasion
relevantTechniques:
  - T1578
query: |
  let tokens = dynamic(["416","208","192","128","120","96","80","72","64","48","44","40","nc12","nc24","nv24"]);
  let operationList = dynamic(["microsoft.compute/virtualmachines/write", "microsoft.resources/deployments/write"]);
  AzureActivity
  | where OperationNameValue in~ (operationList)
  | where ActivityStatusValue startswith "Accept"
  | where Properties has 'vmSize'
  | extend parsed_property= parse_json(tostring((parse_json(Properties).responseBody))).properties
  | extend vmSize = tostring((parsed_property.hardwareProfile).vmSize)
  | mv-apply token=tokens to typeof(string) on (where vmSize contains token)
  | extend ComputerName = tostring((parsed_property.osProfile).computerName)
  | project TimeGenerated, OperationNameValue, ActivityStatusValue, Caller, CallerIpAddress, ComputerName, vmSize
  | extend Name = tostring(split(Caller,'@',0)[0]), UPNSuffix = tostring(split(Caller,'@',1)[0])
entityMappings:
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: Caller
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: Name
      - identifier: UPNSuffix
        columnName: UPNSuffix
  - entityType: Host
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: HostName
        columnName: ComputerName  
  - entityType: IP
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Address
        columnName: CallerIpAddress
version: 2.0.3
kind: NRT

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

let tokens = dynamic(["416","208","192","128","120","96","80","72","64","48","44","40","nc12","nc24","nv24"]);
let operationList = dynamic(["microsoft.compute/virtualmachines/write", "microsoft.resources/deployments/write"]);

Stage 1: `source`

AzureActivity

Stage 2: `where`

| where OperationNameValue in~ (operationList)

Stage 3: `where`

| where ActivityStatusValue startswith "Accept"

Stage 4: `where`

| where Properties has 'vmSize'

Stage 5: `extend`

| extend parsed_property= parse_json(tostring((parse_json(Properties).responseBody))).properties

Stage 6: `extend`

| extend vmSize = tostring((parsed_property.hardwareProfile).vmSize)

Stage 7: `kusto:mv-apply`

| mv-apply token=tokens to typeof(string) on (where vmSize contains token)

Stage 8: `extend`

| extend ComputerName = tostring((parsed_property.osProfile).computerName)

Stage 9: `project`

| project TimeGenerated, OperationNameValue, ActivityStatusValue, Caller, CallerIpAddress, ComputerName, vmSize

Stage 10: `extend`

| extend Name = tostring(split(Caller,'@',0)[0]), UPNSuffix = tostring(split(Caller,'@',1)[0])

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
`ActivityStatusValue`	starts_with	`Accept`
`OperationNameValue`	in	`microsoft.compute/virtualmachines/write` `microsoft.resources/deployments/write`
`Properties`	match	`vmSize` transforms: `term`
`vmSize`	contains	`token`

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
`ActivityStatusValue`	`project`
`Caller`	`project`
`CallerIpAddress`	`project`
`ComputerName`	`project`
`OperationNameValue`	`project`
`TimeGenerated`	`project`
`vmSize`	`project`
`Name`	`extend`
`UPNSuffix`	`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)

NRT Creation of expensive computes in Azure

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `where`

Stage 5: `extend`

Stage 6: `extend`

Stage 7: `kusto:mv-apply`

Stage 8: `extend`

Stage 9: `project`

Stage 10: `extend`

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

NRT Creation of expensive computes in Azure

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Stage 1: source

Stage 2: where

Stage 3: where

Stage 4: where

Stage 5: extend

Stage 6: extend

Stage 7: kusto:mv-apply

Stage 8: extend

Stage 9: project

Stage 10: extend

Indicators

Output fields

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `where`

Stage 5: `extend`

Stage 6: `extend`

Stage 7: `kusto:mv-apply`

Stage 8: `extend`

Stage 9: `project`

Stage 10: `extend`