Workspace deletion activity from an infected device

Severity: medium
Time window: 14d
Group by: AadTenantId, AadUserId, AccountObjectId, AccountTenantId
Author: Microsoft Security Research
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

'This query will alert on any sign-ins from devices infected with malware in correlation with workspace deletion activity. Attackers may attempt to delete workspaces containing compute instances after successful compromise to cause service unavailability to regular business operation.'

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Initial Access	`T1078` Valid Accounts
Impact	`T1489` Service Stop

Rule body kusto

id: a5b3429d-f1da-42b9-883c-327ecb7b91ff
name: Workspace deletion activity from an infected device
description: |
  'This query will alert on any sign-ins from devices infected with malware in correlation with workspace deletion activity. 
  Attackers may attempt to delete workspaces containing compute instances after successful compromise to cause service unavailability to regular business operation.'
severity: Medium
requiredDataConnectors:
  - connectorId: AzureActiveDirectoryIdentityProtection
    dataTypes:
      - SecurityAlert (IPC)
  - connectorId: AzureActivity
    dataTypes:
      - AzureActivity
  - connectorId: BehaviorAnalytics
    dataTypes:
      - IdentityInfo
queryFrequency: 1d
queryPeriod: 14d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
tactics:
  - InitialAccess
  - Impact
relevantTechniques:
  - T1078
  - T1489
query: |
    SecurityAlert
    | where TimeGenerated > ago(1d)
    | where ProductName == "Azure Active Directory Identity Protection"
    | where AlertName == "Sign-in from an infected device"
    | mv-apply EntityAccount=todynamic(Entities) on
    (
    where EntityAccount.Type == "account"
    | extend AadTenantId = tostring(EntityAccount.AadTenantId), AadUserId = tostring(EntityAccount.AadUserId)
    )
    | mv-apply EntityIp=todynamic(Entities) on
    (
    where EntityIp.Type == "ip"
    | extend IpAddress = tostring(EntityIp.Address)
    )
    | join kind=inner (
    IdentityInfo
    | distinct AccountTenantId, AccountObjectId, AccountUPN, AccountDisplayName
    | extend UserAccount = AccountUPN
    | extend UserName = AccountDisplayName
    | where isnotempty(AccountDisplayName) and isnotempty(UserAccount)
    | project AccountTenantId, AccountObjectId, UserAccount, UserName
    )
    on
    $left.AadTenantId == $right.AccountTenantId,
    $left.AadUserId == $right.AccountObjectId
    | extend CompromisedEntity = iff(CompromisedEntity == "N/A" or isempty(CompromisedEntity), UserAccount, CompromisedEntity)
    | project  AlertName, AlertSeverity, CompromisedEntity, UserAccount, IpAddress, TimeGenerated, UserName
    | join kind=inner 
    (
    AzureActivity
    | where OperationNameValue has_any ("/workspaces/computes/delete", "workspaces/delete") 
    | where ActivityStatusValue has_any ("Succeeded", "Success")
    | project TimeGenerated, ResourceProviderValue, _ResourceId, SubscriptionId, UserAccount=Caller, IpAddress=CallerIpAddress, CorrelationId, OperationId, ResourceGroup, TenantId
    ) on IpAddress, UserAccount
    | extend AccountName = tostring(split(UserAccount, "@")[0]), AccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(UserAccount, "@")[1])
entityMappings:
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: UserAccount
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: AccountName
      - identifier: UPNSuffix
        columnName: AccountUPNSuffix
  - entityType: IP
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Address
        columnName: IpAddress
  - entityType: AzureResource
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: ResourceId
        columnName: _ResourceId
version: 1.0.8
kind: Scheduled
metadata:
    source:
        kind: Community
    author:
        name: Microsoft Security Research
    support:
        tier: Community
    categories:
        domains: [ "Security - Threat Protection", "Platform" ]

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: `source`

SecurityAlert

Stage 2: `where`

| where TimeGenerated > ago(1d)

Stage 3: `where`

| where ProductName == "Azure Active Directory Identity Protection"

Stage 4: `where`

| where AlertName == "Sign-in from an infected device"

Stage 5: `kusto:mv-apply`

| mv-apply EntityAccount=todynamic(Entities) on
(
where EntityAccount.Type == "account"
| extend AadTenantId = tostring(EntityAccount.AadTenantId), AadUserId = tostring(EntityAccount.AadUserId)
)

Stage 6: `kusto:mv-apply`

| mv-apply EntityIp=todynamic(Entities) on
(
where EntityIp.Type == "ip"
| extend IpAddress = tostring(EntityIp.Address)
)

Stage 7: `join`

| join kind=inner (
IdentityInfo
| distinct AccountTenantId, AccountObjectId, AccountUPN, AccountDisplayName
| extend UserAccount = AccountUPN
| extend UserName = AccountDisplayName
| where isnotempty(AccountDisplayName) and isnotempty(UserAccount)
| project AccountTenantId, AccountObjectId, UserAccount, UserName
)
on
$left.AadTenantId == $right.AccountTenantId,
$left.AadUserId == $right.AccountObjectId

Stage 8: `extend`

| extend CompromisedEntity = iff(CompromisedEntity == "N/A" or isempty(CompromisedEntity), UserAccount, CompromisedEntity)

CompromisedEntity =

if(CompromisedEntity == "N/A" or isempty(CompromisedEntity))UserAccount

elseCompromisedEntity

Stage 9: `project`

| project  AlertName, AlertSeverity, CompromisedEntity, UserAccount, IpAddress, TimeGenerated, UserName

Stage 10: `join`

| join kind=inner 
(
AzureActivity
| where OperationNameValue has_any ("/workspaces/computes/delete", "workspaces/delete") 
| where ActivityStatusValue has_any ("Succeeded", "Success")
| project TimeGenerated, ResourceProviderValue, _ResourceId, SubscriptionId, UserAccount=Caller, IpAddress=CallerIpAddress, CorrelationId, OperationId, ResourceGroup, TenantId
) on IpAddress, UserAccount

Stage 11: `extend`

| extend AccountName = tostring(split(UserAccount, "@")[0]), AccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(UserAccount, "@")[1])

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
`AccountDisplayName`	is_not_null	(no value, null check)
`ActivityStatusValue`	match	`Succeeded` `Success`
`AlertName`	eq	`Sign-in from an infected device` transforms: `cased`
`OperationNameValue`	match	`/workspaces/computes/delete` `workspaces/delete`
`ProductName`	eq	`Azure Active Directory Identity Protection` transforms: `cased`
`Type`	eq	`account` transforms: `cased` `ip` transforms: `cased`
`UserAccount`	is_not_null	(no value, null check)

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
`AlertName`	`project`
`AlertSeverity`	`project`
`CompromisedEntity`	`project`
`IpAddress`	`project`
`TimeGenerated`	`project`
`UserAccount`	`project`
`UserName`	`project`
`AccountName`	`extend`
`AccountUPNSuffix`	`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)

Workspace deletion activity from an infected device

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `where`

Stage 5: `kusto:mv-apply`

Stage 6: `kusto:mv-apply`

Stage 7: `join`

Stage 8: `extend`

Stage 9: `project`

Stage 10: `join`

Stage 11: `extend`

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Workspace deletion activity from an infected device

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: source

Stage 2: where

Stage 3: where

Stage 4: where

Stage 5: kusto:mv-apply

Stage 6: kusto:mv-apply

Stage 7: join

Stage 8: extend

Stage 9: project

Stage 10: join

Stage 11: extend

Indicators

Output fields

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `where`

Stage 5: `kusto:mv-apply`

Stage 6: `kusto:mv-apply`

Stage 7: `join`

Stage 8: `extend`

Stage 9: `project`

Stage 10: `join`

Stage 11: `extend`