Detection rules › Panther
Azure Virtual Machine Deleted
Detects when an Azure Virtual Machine is deleted. VM deletion may indicate normal deprovisioning or could be part of a larger attack pattern to disrupt services.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Impact | T1485 Data Destruction, T1489 Service Stop |
Rule body yaml
AnalysisType: rule
Filename: azure_vm_deleted.py
RuleID: "Azure.MonitorActivity.VirtualMachine.Deleted"
DisplayName: "Azure Virtual Machine Deleted"
Enabled: true
LogTypes:
- Azure.MonitorActivity
Severity: Info
Status: Experimental
Description: >
Detects when an Azure Virtual Machine is deleted.
VM deletion may indicate normal deprovisioning or could be part of a larger attack pattern to disrupt services.
Reports:
MITRE ATT&CK:
- TA0040:T1485 # Impact: Data Destruction
- TA0040:T1489 # Impact: Service Stop
Tags:
- Impact
- Data Destruction
- Service Stop
Runbook: |
1. Query Azure Monitor Activity logs for all compute resource operations by the callerIpAddress in the 24 hours before and after this alert to identify if multiple VMs are being deleted
2. Check if the source IP is associated with known cloud providers, VPN services, or corporate network ranges using threat intelligence
3. Search for other Azure resource deletions or service disruption activities from the same user or IP in the past 7 days to assess the scope of potential impact
Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/compute/virtual-machines/delete?view=rest-compute-2025-04-01&tabs=HTTP
SummaryAttributes:
- resourceId
- callerIpAddress
- correlationId
Tests:
- Name: Virtual Machine Deleted
ExpectedResult: true
Log:
{
"time": "2024-12-17T10:30:00.0000000Z",
"resourceId": "/subscriptions/12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc/resourceGroups/myresourcegroup/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/myvm",
"operationName": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/delete",
"operationVersion": "2021-07-01",
"category": "Administrative",
"resultType": "Success",
"resultSignature": "200",
"callerIpAddress": "1.1.1.1",
"correlationId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
"location": "",
"tenantId": "87654321-4321-4321-4321-111111111111"
}
- Name: Case Insensitive Match
ExpectedResult: true
Log:
{
"time": "2024-12-17T11:45:00.0000000Z",
"resourceId": "/subscriptions/12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc/resourceGroups/prod-rg/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/prodvm",
"operationName": "microsoft.compute/virtualmachines/delete",
"operationVersion": "2021-07-01",
"category": "Administrative",
"resultType": "Succeeded",
"callerIpAddress": "1.2.3.4",
"correlationId": "f9e8d7c6-b5a4-3210-9876-fedcba098765",
"location": "eastus",
"tenantId": "87654321-4321-4321-4321-111111111111"
}
- Name: Different Operation
ExpectedResult: false
Log:
{
"time": "2024-12-17T13:30:00.0000000Z",
"resourceId": "/subscriptions/12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc/resourceGroups/myresourcegroup/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/myvm",
"operationName": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/write",
"operationVersion": "2021-07-01",
"category": "Administrative",
"resultType": "Success",
"callerIpAddress": "203.0.113.75",
"correlationId": "d4e5f6a7-b8c9-0123-def0-234567890123",
"location": "westus",
"tenantId": "87654321-4321-4321-4321-210987654321"
}
Detection logic
Condition
operationName eq "MICROSOFT.COMPUTE/VIRTUALMACHINES/DELETE"
resultType in ["Success", "Succeeded"]
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 |
|---|---|---|
operationName | eq |
|
resultType | in |
|