Automation
Azure Monitor for Threat Hunting
Azure Monitor's automation capabilities provide the ability to respond automatically to detected threats, streamline incident response, and enhance overall security operations. By integrating with Azure Logic Apps, Azure Automation, and Azure Functions, incidents can automate workflows that quickly and efficiently address security alerts and incidents.
Key Automation Components in Azure Monitor
Azure Logic Apps
Azure Automation
Azure Functions
Action Groups
1. Azure Logic Apps
Description:
Azure Logic Apps is a cloud service that helps you automate and orchestrate tasks and workflows across systems and services.
Threat Hunting Examples:
Automated Threat Response: When an alert indicates potential malicious activity, a Logic App can automatically generate an incident ticket in a system like ServiceNow or Jira, assign it to the security operations team, and escalate as necessary.
IP Blocking: Upon detecting multiple failed login attempts from a suspicious IP address, a Logic App can trigger a workflow to block the IP address at the network level.
Example Workflow:
Alert triggers on detecting suspicious login activity.
Logic App workflow starts, creating an incident ticket in ServiceNow.
The workflow sends a notification to the threat hunting team via email or Microsoft Teams.
The workflow updates firewall rules to block the suspicious IP address.
2. Azure Automation
Description:
Azure Automation provides a way to automate frequent, time-consuming, and error-prone cloud management tasks.
Threat Hunting Examples:
Automated Investigation: Automatically run scripts to gather forensic data when a potential threat is detected. For example, collect log files, system snapshots, and network traffic data.
Compliance Enforcement: Use runbooks to regularly audit and remediate non-compliant resources, ensuring they adhere to security policies.
Example Runbook:
An alert triggers on detecting an anomalous behavior on a virtual machine.
An Azure Automation runbook initiates to gather logs, snapshots, and other forensic data from the VM.
The runbook analyzes the data and sends a report to the threat hunting team.
3. Azure Functions
Description:
Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that allows you to run event-driven code without managing infrastructure.
Function Examples:
Real-Time Threat Mitigation: Trigger a function to isolate a compromised VM upon detecting malware activity, then notify the threat hunting team for further investigation.
Anomaly Detection: Use Azure Functions to process and analyze data in real time, identifying anomalies that could indicate a security breach.
Example Function:
An alert triggers on detecting data exfiltration activities.
Azure Function processes the alert, confirms the threat, and isolates the affected resource.
The function logs the incident details and notifies the security operations center (SOC).
4. Action Groups
Description:
Action groups are reusable sets of actions that can be triggered by alerts. These actions include sending notifications, running automation, and invoking Logic Apps or Azure Functions.
Action Group Examples:
Notification and Escalation: When a critical threat is detected, an action group can send email and SMS notifications to on-call threat hunters and escalate if no response is received within a specified timeframe.
Orchestrated Response: An action group can trigger a combination of Logic Apps, Automation runbooks, and Azure Functions to coordinate a comprehensive threat response.
Example Action Group Configuration:
An alert for unauthorized access attempts is detected.
Action group sends email and SMS notifications to the threat hunting team.
Action group triggers a Logic App to log the incident and update firewall rules.
Action group invokes an Azure Function to analyze the threat and isolate the compromised resource.
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