Detection rules › Panther

Azure Virtual Machine Deleted

Status
Experimental
Severity
informational
Log types
Azure.MonitorActivity
Tags
Impact, Data Destruction, Service Stop
Reference
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/compute/virtual-machines/delete?view=rest-compute-2025-04-01&tabs=HTTP
Source
github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

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

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.

FieldKindValues
operationNameeq
  • MICROSOFT.COMPUTE/VIRTUALMACHINES/DELETE
resultTypein
  • Succeeded
  • Success