Detection: aws detect permanent key creation

EXPERIMENTAL DETECTION

This detection status is set to experimental. The Splunk Threat Research team has not yet fully tested, simulated, or built comprehensive datasets for this detection. As such, this analytic is not officially supported. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at research@splunk.com.

Updated Date: 2024-05-23 ID: 12d6d713-3cb4-4ffc-a064-1dca3d1cca01 Author: Rod Soto, Splunk Type: Hunting Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the creation of permanent access keys in AWS accounts. It leverages CloudWatch logs to identify events where the CreateAccessKey action is performed by IAM users. Monitoring the creation of permanent keys is crucial as they are not created by default and are typically used for programmatic access. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to gain persistent access to AWS resources, potentially leading to unauthorized actions and data exfiltration.

1`aws_cloudwatchlogs_eks` CreateAccessKey 
2| spath eventName 
3| search eventName=CreateAccessKey "userIdentity.type"=IAMUser 
4| table sourceIPAddress userName userIdentity.type userAgent action status responseElements.accessKey.createDate responseElements.accessKey.status responseElements.accessKey.accessKeyId 
5|`aws_detect_permanent_key_creation_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source Supported App
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Macros Used

Name Value
aws_cloudwatchlogs_eks sourcetype="aws:cloudwatchlogs:eks"
aws_detect_permanent_key_creation_filter search *
aws_detect_permanent_key_creation_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK
+ Kill Chain Phases
+ NIST
+ CIS
- Threat Actors
ID Technique Tactic
T1078 Valid Accounts Defense Evasion
KillChainPhase.DELIVERY
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
KillChainPhase.INSTALLATION
NistCategory.DE_AE
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT18
APT28
APT29
APT33
APT39
APT41
Akira
Axiom
Carbanak
Chimera
Cinnamon Tempest
Dragonfly
FIN10
FIN4
FIN5
FIN6
FIN7
FIN8
Fox Kitten
GALLIUM
Ke3chang
LAPSUS$
Lazarus Group
Leviathan
OilRig
POLONIUM
PittyTiger
Sandworm Team
Silence
Silent Librarian
Suckfly
Threat Group-3390
Wizard Spider
menuPass

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting Value
Disabled true
Cron Schedule 0 * * * *
Earliest Time -70m@m
Latest Time -10m@m
Schedule Window auto
Creates Risk Event False
This configuration file applies to all detections of type hunting.

Implementation

You must install splunk AWS add on and Splunk App for AWS. This search works with cloudwatch logs

Known False Positives

Not all permanent key creations are malicious. If there is a policy of rotating keys this search can be adjusted to provide better context.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
tbd 25 50 50
The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

Detection Testing

Test Type Status Dataset Source Sourcetype
Validation Not Applicable N/A N/A N/A
Unit ❌ Failing N/A N/A N/A
Integration ❌ Failing N/A N/A N/A

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub | Version: 2