Detect Cloud Accounts in IBM QRadar
Valid cloud accounts may be leveraged by adversaries to achieve Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion in cloud environments. Adversaries may obtain cloud credentials through phishing, brute force, credential theft from endpoints, or by compromising on-premises identity infrastructure federated with cloud services. Once in possession of valid credentials, adversaries can authenticate to cloud management planes (Azure, AWS, GCP), SaaS applications (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace), or identity providers (Entra ID, Okta) and operate as legitimate users. Techniques include abusing service principals, managed identities, OAuth tokens, and API keys to maintain persistence and move laterally across cloud resources.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Technique
- T1078 Valid Accounts
- Sub-technique
- T1078.004 Cloud Accounts
- Canonical reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/004/
QRadar Detection Query
SELECT
DATEFORMAT(starttime, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') AS EventTime,
username AS UserPrincipalName,
sourceip AS IPAddress,
LOGSOURCENAME(logsourceid) AS LogSource,
"Application" AS AppDisplayName,
"CountryOrRegion" AS Country,
"ClientAppUsed" AS ClientApp,
"RiskLevelDuringSignIn" AS RiskLevel,
"AuthenticationRequirement" AS AuthRequirement,
"ConditionalAccessStatus" AS ConditionalAccess,
CASE
WHEN "CountryOrRegion" IN ('KP','IR','RU','CN','BY') THEN 'SuspiciousCountry'
WHEN LOWER("ClientAppUsed") MATCHES '(?i)(imap|pop3|smtp|basicauth|exchange.?activesync|autodiscover|exchange.?web.?services|authenticated.?smtp|outlook.?anywhere)' THEN 'LegacyAuth'
WHEN "RiskLevelDuringSignIn" IN ('high','medium') THEN 'HighRisk'
ELSE 'MFABypassed'
END AS PrimaryAlertReason
FROM events
WHERE
LOGSOURCETYPEID(devicetype) = 452
AND (
"CountryOrRegion" IN ('KP', 'IR', 'RU', 'CN', 'BY')
OR LOWER("ClientAppUsed") MATCHES '(?i)(imap|pop3|smtp|basicauth|exchange.?activesync|autodiscover|exchange.?web.?services|authenticated.?smtp|outlook.?anywhere)'
OR "RiskLevelDuringSignIn" IN ('high', 'medium')
OR ("AuthenticationRequirement" = 'singleFactorAuthentication' AND "ConditionalAccessStatus" != 'notApplied')
)
AND starttime > NOW() - 86400000
ORDER BY starttime DESCQRadar AQL query targeting Microsoft Azure Active Directory sign-in events ingested via the QRadar DSM. Detects successful authentications flagged for high-risk country origin, legacy protocol usage, elevated identity risk level, or MFA bypass. LOGSOURCETYPEID 452 is the standard DSM identifier for Microsoft Azure Active Directory — verify and adjust this value for your deployment. Custom properties (CountryOrRegion, ClientAppUsed, RiskLevelDuringSignIn, AuthenticationRequirement, ConditionalAccessStatus) must be mapped via QRadar's Custom Properties DSM Editor from the raw Azure AD JSON payload fields.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Security operations staff using VPN endpoints with exit nodes in flagged countries during threat intelligence research, red team simulations, or geo-testing exercises
- Service accounts using SMTP AUTH for alerting pipelines or monitoring systems that are documented and approved in the change management system
- Users behind carrier-grade NAT or CDN reverse-proxy exit nodes whose source IP resolves to a flagged country despite the user being physically located elsewhere
Other platforms for T1078.004
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 5 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Azure CLI Authentication with Compromised Credentials
Expected signal: Entra ID SigninLogs: successful interactive sign-in with AppDisplayName='Microsoft Azure CLI', DeviceDetail showing unregistered device, IPAddress of test machine. AuditLogs may show directory read operations. Risk signals may trigger if this is a new location or device for the account.
- Test 2Service Principal Authentication and Enumeration
Expected signal: AADServicePrincipalSignInLogs: service principal authentication event with IPAddress, ResourceDisplayName, and AppId. AuditLogs: directory read operations. If run from a new IP, this will appear as an anomalous source for the service principal.
- Test 3Legacy Authentication Simulation via SMTP Basic Auth
Expected signal: Entra ID SigninLogs: sign-in attempt with ClientAppUsed='Authenticated SMTP' or 'SMTP Auth', Protocol='SMTP', IsInteractive=false. The sign-in will be flagged as legacy authentication. If successful, ResultType=0; if legacy auth is blocked by CA policy, ResultType will reflect the block.
- Test 4Impossible Travel Simulation via Azure Resource Manager API
Expected signal: Two sign-in events in SigninLogs from different IP addresses and geolocations for the same account within a short time window. Entra ID Identity Protection may generate an 'Impossible travel' or 'Unfamiliar sign-in properties' risk detection (AADUserRiskEvents). The second sign-in will have a different CountryOrRegion in LocationDetails.
- Test 5Add Credentials to Existing Service Principal (Persistence)
Expected signal: AuditLogs: OperationName='Add service principal credentials' or 'Update application – Certificates and secrets management' with the initiating user's UPN, source IP, and target service principal name and ID. This is the exact pattern hunted by the Service Principal Credential Addition hunting query.
References (12)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/004/
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/monitoring-health/concept-sign-ins
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/id-protection/overview-identity-protection
- https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/12/21/advice-for-incident-responders-on-recovery-from-systemic-identity-compromises/
- https://posts.specterops.io/managed-identity-attack-paths-part-1-automation-accounts-82667d17187a
- https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/apt29-microsoft-365
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/sentinel/detect-threats-built-in
- https://github.com/BloodHoundAD/ROADtools
- https://github.com/RhinoSecurityLabs/pacu
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/conditional-access/block-legacy-authentication
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/develop/howto-create-service-principal-portal
- https://microsoft.github.io/Microsoft-365-Defender-Hunting-Queries/
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