Detect Data from Cloud Storage in IBM QRadar
Adversaries access data from cloud storage services including IaaS object stores (Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Storage) and SaaS platform storage (OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox). Attack vectors include exploiting misconfigured public bucket access, using compromised credentials or SAS tokens, abusing overly permissive IAM roles, and automated tools such as Rclone, Pacu, and AADInternals for bulk extraction. Threat actors observed using this technique include Fox Kitten, APT42, HAFNIUM, Scattered Spider, and Storm-0501 — the latter specifically modifying Azure Storage account configurations to expose non-remotely accessible accounts for data exfiltration. Misconfigurations enabling anonymous or overly broad access have led to exposure of PII, medical records, and financial data at scale.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Collection
- Technique
- T1530 Data from Cloud Storage
- Canonical reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1530/
QRadar Detection Query
SELECT
DATEFORMAT((starttime / 1800000) * 1800000, 'YYYY-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') AS time_bucket,
username AS actor,
sourceip AS source_ip,
LOGSOURCETYPENAME(logsourceid) AS platform,
COUNT(*) AS total_requests,
SUM(CASE
WHEN QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%GetObject%'
OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%FileDownload%'
OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%FileSyncDownload%'
THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS download_count,
SUM(CASE
WHEN QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%ListBucket%'
OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%ListObjects%'
OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%GetBucketAcl%'
OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%GetBucketPolicy%'
THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS enum_count,
SUM(CASE
WHEN UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%AnonUser%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%"type":"Anonymous%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%principalId":"anonymous%'
THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS anon_count,
MAX(CASE
WHEN UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%rclone%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%pacu%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%aadInternals%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%boto3%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%python-requests%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%aws-cli/%'
THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS known_tool_detected,
MAX(CASE
WHEN UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%listKeys%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%regenerateKey%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%LISTKEYS/ACTION%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%REGENERATEKEY/ACTION%'
THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS storage_key_access,
(
CASE WHEN SUM(CASE WHEN UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%AnonUser%' OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%"type":"Anonymous%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) > 0 THEN 3 ELSE 0 END +
CASE WHEN SUM(CASE WHEN QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%GetObject%' OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%FileDownload%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) > 500 THEN 3
WHEN SUM(CASE WHEN QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%GetObject%' OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%FileDownload%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) > 100 THEN 2
WHEN SUM(CASE WHEN QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%GetObject%' OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%FileDownload%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) > 50 THEN 1
ELSE 0 END +
CASE WHEN SUM(CASE WHEN QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%ListBucket%' OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%ListObjects%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) > 20 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END +
CASE WHEN MAX(CASE WHEN UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%rclone%' OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%pacu%' OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%aadInternals%' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) = 1 THEN 2 ELSE 0 END
) AS suspicion_score
FROM events
WHERE (
LOGSOURCETYPENAME(logsourceid) LIKE '%CloudTrail%'
OR LOGSOURCETYPENAME(logsourceid) LIKE '%Office 365%'
OR LOGSOURCETYPENAME(logsourceid) LIKE '%Azure Activity%'
)
AND (
(UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%s3.amazonaws.com%'
AND (
QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%GetObject%' OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%ListBucket%'
OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%ListObjects%' OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%GetBucketAcl%'
OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%GetBucketPolicy%' OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%GetBucketPublicAccess%'
)
)
OR (
LOGSOURCETYPENAME(logsourceid) LIKE '%Office 365%'
AND (
QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%FileDownload%' OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%FileAccess%'
OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%FileCop%' OR QIDNAME(qid) LIKE '%FileSyncDownload%'
)
AND (UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%OneDrive%' OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%SharePoint%')
)
OR (
UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%Microsoft.Storage%'
AND (
UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%listKeys%' OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%regenerateKey%'
OR UTF8(payload) ILIKE '%storageAccounts/write%'
)
)
)
GROUP BY (starttime / 1800000) * 1800000, username, sourceip
HAVING download_count > 50
OR anon_count > 0
OR known_tool_detected = 1
OR enum_count > 20
OR storage_key_access = 1
ORDER BY suspicion_score DESC, time_bucket DESC
LAST 86400 SECONDS QRadar AQL query aggregating cloud storage access events from AWS CloudTrail, Microsoft Office 365 audit logs, and Azure Activity logs over 30-minute windows. Calculates suspicion score based on anonymous access, download volume, enumeration activity, and known exfiltration tool signatures (rclone, pacu, aadInternals, boto3). Alerts on mass downloads (>50), any anonymous access, known tool usage, or Azure Storage key listing operations. Uses payload string matching for cloud-provider-specific field extraction since QRadar custom properties for these log sources vary by deployment.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Bulk S3 downloads by automated ETL pipelines using boto3 or aws-cli service accounts during scheduled data warehouse refresh jobs creating high download_count values
- SharePoint library offline sync by legitimate users downloading entire team site document libraries triggering the 50-file threshold
- Routine Azure Storage access key rotation by platform operations team during change management windows generating storage_key_access hits
Other platforms for T1530
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 4 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 1AWS S3 Anonymous Bucket Enumeration and Download
Expected signal: AWS CloudTrail will record ListObjects and GetObject events with userIdentity.type=Anonymous and userIdentity.principalId=anonymous. sourceIPAddress will be the tester's public IP. No ARN present in the identity block. S3 server access logs (if enabled) will show - as the requester.
- Test 2AWS S3 Bulk Object Download with Valid Credentials
Expected signal: CloudTrail records: ListObjects (eventName=ListObjectsV2) and multiple GetObject events from the same source IP within a short window. userIdentity.type=IAMUser or AssumedRole with the test key ARN. requestParameters.bucketName contains the target bucket. High event volume triggers the 50+ GetObject threshold in the SPL detection.
- Test 3Rclone Cloud Storage Sync (Exfiltration Tool Pattern)
Expected signal: CloudTrail GetObject and ListObjectsV2 events with userAgent containing 'rclone/' version string (e.g., 'rclone/v1.65.0'). High-volume sequential GetObject events for each file in the bucket. The rclone.conf file will contain plaintext cloud credentials at ~/.config/rclone/rclone.conf — a forensic artifact.
- Test 4AADInternals OneDrive File Collection
Expected signal: Microsoft 365 OfficeActivity logs: FileDownloaded operations with UserId matching the authenticated account, OfficeWorkload=OneDrive. UserAgent will identify AADInternals. ClientIP will be the tester's IP. Events appear in the Unified Audit Log within minutes. EntraID SigninLogs will show the authentication used to obtain the access token.
References (11)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1530/
- https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/secure-s3-resources/
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-security-guide
- https://redcanary.com/blog/rclone-mega-extortion/
- https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/virtualization-and-cloud/a-misconfigured-amazon-s3-exposed-almost-50-thousand-pii-in-australia
- https://github.com/RhinoSecurityLabs/pacu
- https://github.com/Gerenios/AADInternals
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/monitor-blob-storage-reference
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/audit-log-activities
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/cloudtrail-logging.html
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/09/26/storm-0501-ransomware-attacks-expanding-to-hybrid-cloud-environments/
Unlock Pro Content
Get the full detection package for T1530 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.