Detection: Detect Remote Access Software Usage URL

Created: 2024-03-06 Last Updated: 2026-10-08 ID: 9296f515-073c-43a5-88ec-eda5a4626654 Author: Steven Dick, Onur Mustafa Erdogan, Splunk Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the execution of known remote access software within the environment. It leverages network logs mapped to the Web data model, identifying specific URLs and user agents associated with remote access tools like AnyDesk, GoToMyPC, LogMeIn, and TeamViewer.

Search

 1
 2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly`
 3         count min(_time) as firstTime
 4               max(_time) as lastTime
 5               latest(Web.http_method) as http_method
 6               latest(Web.http_user_agent) as http_user_agent
 7               latest(Web.url) as url
 8               latest(Web.user) as user
 9               latest(Web.dest) as dest
10
11FROM datamodel=Web WHERE
12
13Web.url_domain=*
14NOT Web.url_domain IN (
15      "-",
16      "unknown"
17)
18[
19    
20| inputlookup remote_access_software
21    
22| search domain!=""
23    
24| rename domain as Web.url_domain
25    
26| table Web.url_domain
27]
28
29BY Web.action Web.src Web.category
30   Web.url_domain Web.url_length
31
32
33| `drop_dm_object_name("Web")`
34
35
36| lookup local=t remote_access_software domain AS url_domain OUTPUT app as signature, category, reference, description
37
38
39| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
40
41| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
42
43
44| `remote_access_software_usage_exceptions`
45
46
47| `detect_remote_access_software_usage_url_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Palo Alto Network Threat	Network	`'pan:threat'`	`'not_applicable'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
security_content_ctime	`convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$)`
detect_remote_access_software_usage_url_filter	`search *`

detect_remote_access_software_usage_url_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
T1219	Remote Access Tools	Command and Control

Command and Control

DE.AE

CIS 13

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 Finding (Notable)	No
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event)	Yes

Anomaly detections generate Intermediate Findings (Risk Events). They do not generate a Finding (Notable) directly.

Implementation

The detection is based on data that originates from network logs. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the network logs. The logs must also be mapped to the Web data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process. The "exceptions" macro leverages both an Assets and Identities lookup, as well as a KVStore collection called "remote_software_exceptions" that lets you track and maintain device-based exceptions for this set of detections.

Known False Positives

It is possible that legitimate remote access software is used within the environment. Ensure that the lookup is reviewed and updated with any additional remote access software that is used within the environment. Known false positives can be added to the remote_access_software_usage_exception.csv lookup to globally suppress these situations across all remote access content

Associated Analytic Story

Intermediate Findings

Message	Entity Field	Entity Type	Risk Score
A domain for a known remote access software [$url_domain$] was contacted by [$src$].	src	system	20
A domain for a known remote access software [$url_domain$] was contacted by [$src$].	user	user	20

Threat Objects

Field	Type
url_domain	domain
signature	signature

References

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	✅ Passing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	✅ Passing	Dataset	`not_applicable`	`pan:threat`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`not_applicable`	`pan:threat`

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: 18