AWS Exfiltration via Anomalous GetObject API Activity

name: AWS Exfiltration via Anomalous GetObject API Activity
id: e4384bbf-5835-4831-8d85-694de6ad2cc6
version: 10
creation_date: '2023-04-10'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Bhavin Patel, Splunk
status: production
type: Anomaly
description: The following analytic identifies anomalous GetObject API activity in AWS, indicating potential data exfiltration attempts. It leverages AWS CloudTrail logs and uses the `anomalydetection` command to detect unusual patterns in the frequency of GetObject API calls by analyzing fields such as "count," "user_type," and "user_arn" within a 10-minute window. This activity is significant as it may indicate unauthorized data access or exfiltration from S3 buckets. If confirmed malicious, attackers could exfiltrate sensitive data, leading to data breaches and compliance violations.
data_source:
    - AWS CloudTrail GetObject
search: |-
    `cloudtrail` eventName=GetObject
      | bin _time span=10m
      | rename user_name as user
      | stats count values(requestParameters.bucketName) as bucketName
        BY signature dest user
           user_agent src vendor_account
           vendor_region vendor_product
      | anomalydetection "count" "user" action=annotate
      | search probable_cause=*
      | `aws_exfiltration_via_anomalous_getobject_api_activity_filter`
how_to_implement: You must install splunk AWS add on and Splunk App for AWS. This search works with AWS CloudTrail logs.
known_false_positives: It is possible that a user downloaded these files to use them locally and there are AWS services in configured that perform these activities for a legitimate reason. Filter is needed.
references:
    - https://labs.nettitude.com/blog/how-to-exfiltrate-aws-ec2-data/
    - https://help.splunk.com/en/splunk-enterprise/search/spl-search-reference/9.4/search-commands/anomalydetection
    - https://www.vectra.ai/blogpost/abusing-the-replicator-silently-exfiltrating-data-with-the-aws-s3-replication-service
intermediate_findings:
    entities:
        - field: user
          type: user
          score: 20
          message: Anomalous S3 activities detected by user $user$ from $src$
threat_objects:
    - field: src
      type: ip_address
analytic_story:
    - Data Exfiltration
asset_type: AWS Account
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1119
product:
    - Splunk Enterprise
    - Splunk Enterprise Security
    - Splunk Cloud
category: cloud
security_domain: threat