Detection rules › Panther
AWS S3 Delete Object Detection
This rule detects when many objects are deleted from an S3 bucket. Such actions can be indicative of unauthorized data deletion or other suspicious activities.
Rules detecting the same action
Other rules on this platform that filter on the same API call or operation.
Rule body yaml
AnalysisType: rule
DedupPeriodMinutes: 60
DisplayName: AWS S3 Delete Object Detection
Enabled: true
Filename: aws_s3_delete_object.py
RuleID: "AWS.S3.DeleteObject"
Threshold: 50
Severity: Info
LogTypes:
- AWS.CloudTrail
Tags:
- AWS
- S3
- CloudTrail
Reports:
Stratus Red Team:
- aws.impact.s3-ransomware-batch-deletion
- aws.impact.s3-ransomware-client-side-encryption
- aws.impact.s3-ransomware-individual-deletion
Description: >
This rule detects when many objects are deleted from an S3 bucket. Such actions can be indicative of unauthorized data deletion or other suspicious activities.
Runbook: |
Investigate the user and the actions performed on the S3 bucket to ensure they were authorized. Unauthorized deletions can lead to data loss.
Steps to investigate:
1. Identify the user who performed the action.
2. Verify if the action was authorized.
3. Check for any other suspicious activities performed by the same user.
4. If unauthorized, take necessary actions to secure the S3 bucket and prevent further unauthorized access.
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/delete-objects.html
Tests:
- Name: DeleteObject
LogType: AWS.CloudTrail
ExpectedResult: true
Log:
{
"eventVersion": "1.08",
"userIdentity": {
"type": "IAMUser",
"principalId": "EXAMPLE",
"arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Alice",
"accountId": "123456789012",
"accessKeyId": "EXAMPLEKEY",
"userName": "Alice"
},
"eventTime": "2023-10-01T12:34:56Z",
"eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
"eventName": "DeleteObject",
"awsRegion": "us-east-1",
"sourceIPAddress": "192.0.2.0",
"userAgent": "aws-sdk-go/1.15.12 (go1.12.6; linux; amd64)",
"requestParameters": {
"bucketName": "example-bucket",
"key": "example-object"
},
"responseElements": null,
"additionalEventData": {
"SignatureVersion": "SigV4",
"CipherSuite": "ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256",
"bytesTransferredIn": 0,
"bytesTransferredOut": 0
},
"requestID": "EXAMPLE123456789",
"eventID": "EXAMPLE-1234-5678-9012-EXAMPLE",
"readOnly": false,
"resources": [
{
"type": "AWS::S3::Object",
"ARN": "arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/example-object"
}
],
"eventType": "AwsApiCall",
"managementEvent": false,
"recipientAccountId": "123456789012",
"sharedEventID": "EXAMPLE-1234-5678-9012-EXAMPLE",
"vpcEndpointId": "vpce-1a2b3c4d"
}
- Name: Other Event
LogType: AWS.CloudTrail
ExpectedResult: false
Log:
{
"eventVersion": "1.08",
"userIdentity": {
"type": "IAMUser",
"principalId": "EXAMPLE",
"arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Bob",
"accountId": "123456789012",
"accessKeyId": "EXAMPLEKEY",
"userName": "Bob"
},
"eventTime": "2023-10-01T12:34:56Z",
"eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
"eventName": "ListBucket",
"awsRegion": "us-east-1",
"sourceIPAddress": "192.0.2.0",
"userAgent": "aws-sdk-go/1.15.12 (go1.12.6; linux; amd64)",
"requestParameters": {
"bucketName": "example-bucket"
},
"responseElements": null,
"additionalEventData": {
"SignatureVersion": "SigV4",
"CipherSuite": "ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256",
"bytesTransferredIn": 0,
"bytesTransferredOut": 0
},
"requestID": "EXAMPLE123456789",
"eventID": "EXAMPLE-1234-5678-9012-EXAMPLE",
"readOnly": true,
"resources": [
{
"type": "AWS::S3::Bucket",
"ARN": "arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket"
}
],
"eventType": "AwsApiCall",
"managementEvent": false,
"recipientAccountId": "123456789012",
"sharedEventID": "EXAMPLE-1234-5678-9012-EXAMPLE",
"vpcEndpointId": "vpce-1a2b3c4d"
}
Detection logic
Condition
not (errorCode is_not_null or errorMessage is_not_null)
eventSource eq "s3.amazonaws.com"
eventName eq "DeleteObject"
Exclusions
Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts: predicates this rule actively suppresses.
| Field | Kind | Excluded values |
|---|---|---|
errorCode | is_not_null | |
errorMessage | is_not_null |
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 |
|---|---|---|
eventName | eq |
|
eventSource | eq |
|
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 |
|---|---|
eventName | |
eventSource | |
awsRegion | |
recipientAccountId | |
sourceIPAddress | |
userAgent | |
userIdentity | |
actor_user | |
bucketName | requestParameters.bucketName |