Suspicious Resource deployment

Status: available
Severity: low
Time window: 1d
Group by: Caller, CallerIpAddress, OperationNameValue
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

Identifies when a rare Resource and ResourceGroup deployment occurs by a previously unseen caller.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Impact	`T1496` Resource Hijacking

Event coverage

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

Rule body kusto

id: 9fb57e58-3ed8-4b89-afcf-c8e786508b1c
name: Suspicious Resource deployment
description: |
  'Identifies when a rare Resource and ResourceGroup deployment occurs by a previously unseen caller.'
severity: Low
status: Available 
requiredDataConnectors:
  - connectorId: AzureActivity
    dataTypes:
      - AzureActivity
queryFrequency: 1d
queryPeriod: 14d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
tactics:
  - Impact
relevantTechniques:
  - T1496
query: |
  // Add or remove operation names below as per your requirements. For operations lists, please refer to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/Azure/role-based-access-control/resource-provider-operations#all
  let szOperationNames = dynamic(["Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write", "Microsoft.Resources/deployments/write", "Microsoft.Resources/subscriptions/resourceGroups/write"]);
  let starttime = 14d;
  let endtime = 1d;
  let RareCaller = AzureActivity
  | where TimeGenerated between (ago(starttime) .. ago(endtime))
  | where OperationNameValue in~ (szOperationNames)
  | summarize count() by CallerIpAddress, Caller, OperationNameValue, bin(TimeGenerated,1d)
  // Returns all the records from the right side that don't have matches from the left.
  | join kind=rightantisemi (
  AzureActivity
  | where TimeGenerated > ago(endtime)
  | where OperationNameValue in~ (szOperationNames)
  | summarize StartTimeUtc = min(TimeGenerated), EndTimeUtc = max(TimeGenerated), ActivityTimeStamp = make_set(TimeGenerated,100), ActivityStatusValue = make_set(ActivityStatusValue,100), CorrelationIds = make_set(CorrelationId,100), ResourceGroups = make_set(ResourceGroup,100), ResourceIds = make_set(_ResourceId,100), ActivityCountByCallerIPAddress = count()
  by CallerIpAddress, Caller, OperationNameValue) on CallerIpAddress, Caller, OperationNameValue;
  RareCaller
  | extend Name = iif(Caller has '@',tostring(split(Caller,'@',0)[0]),"")
  | extend UPNSuffix = iif(Caller has '@',tostring(split(Caller,'@',1)[0]),"")
  | extend AadUserId = iif(Caller !has '@',Caller,"")
entityMappings:
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: Caller
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: Name
      - identifier: UPNSuffix
        columnName: UPNSuffix
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: AadUserId
        columnName: AadUserId
  - entityType: IP
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Address
        columnName: CallerIpAddress
version: 2.0.4
kind: Scheduled

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

let starttime = 14d;
let endtime = 1d;

Let binding: `szOperationNames`

let szOperationNames = dynamic(["Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write", "Microsoft.Resources/deployments/write", "Microsoft.Resources/subscriptions/resourceGroups/write"]);

The stages below define let RareCaller (the rule's main pipeline source).

Stage 1: `source`

AzureActivity

Stage 2: `where`

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

Stage 3: `where`

| where OperationNameValue in~ (szOperationNames)

References szOperationNames (defined above).

Stage 4: `summarize`

| summarize count() by CallerIpAddress, Caller, OperationNameValue, bin(TimeGenerated,1d)

Stage 5: `join` (negated)

| join kind=rightantisemi (
AzureActivity
| where TimeGenerated > ago(endtime)
| where OperationNameValue in~ (szOperationNames)
| summarize StartTimeUtc = min(TimeGenerated), EndTimeUtc = max(TimeGenerated), ActivityTimeStamp = make_set(TimeGenerated,100), ActivityStatusValue = make_set(ActivityStatusValue,100), CorrelationIds = make_set(CorrelationId,100), ResourceGroups = make_set(ResourceGroup,100), ResourceIds = make_set(_ResourceId,100), ActivityCountByCallerIPAddress = count()
by CallerIpAddress, Caller, OperationNameValue) on CallerIpAddress, Caller, OperationNameValue

The stages below run on RareCaller (the outer pipeline).

Stage 6: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

RareCaller
| extend Name = iif(Caller has '@',tostring(split(Caller,'@',0)[0]),"")
| extend UPNSuffix = iif(Caller has '@',tostring(split(Caller,'@',1)[0]),"")
| extend AadUserId = iif(Caller !has '@',Caller,"")

Exclusions

Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts: predicates this rule actively suppresses.

Field	Kind	Excluded values
`OperationNameValue`	in	`Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write`, `Microsoft.Resources/deployments/write`, `Microsoft.Resources/subscriptions/resourceGroups/write`

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
`OperationNameValue`	in	`Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write` `Microsoft.Resources/deployments/write` `Microsoft.Resources/subscriptions/resourceGroups/write`

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
`Caller`	`summarize`
`CallerIpAddress`	`summarize`
`OperationNameValue`	`summarize`
`Name`	`extend`
`UPNSuffix`	`extend`
`AadUserId`	`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)

Suspicious Resource deployment

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Let binding: `szOperationNames`

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `summarize`

Stage 5: `join` (negated)

Stage 6: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

Exclusions

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Suspicious Resource deployment

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Let binding: szOperationNames

Stage 1: source

Stage 2: where

Stage 3: where

Stage 4: summarize

Stage 5: join (negated)

Stage 6: extend (3 consecutive steps)

Exclusions

Indicators

Output fields

Let binding: `szOperationNames`

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `summarize`

Stage 5: `join` (negated)

Stage 6: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)