Spike in Azure Activity Logs Failed Messages

 1[metadata]
 2creation_date = "2025/10/06"
 3integration = ["azure"]
 4maturity = "production"
 5min_stack_comments = "New job added"
 6min_stack_version = "9.3.0"
 7updated_date = "2025/11/21"
 8
 9[rule]
10anomaly_threshold = 50
11author = ["Elastic"]
12description = """
13A machine learning job detected a significant spike in the rate of a particular failure in the Azure Activity Logs messages. Spikes
14in failed messages may accompany attempts at privilege escalation, lateral movement, or discovery.
15"""
16false_positives = [
17    """
18    Spikes in failures can also be due to bugs in cloud automation scripts or workflows; changes to cloud
19    automation scripts or workflows; adoption of new services; changes in the way services are used; or changes to IAM
20    privileges.
21    """,
22]
23from = "now-60m"
24interval = "15m"
25license = "Elastic License v2"
26machine_learning_job_id = "azure_activitylogs_high_distinct_count_event_action_on_failure"
27name = "Spike in Azure Activity Logs Failed Messages"
28setup = """## Setup
29
30This rule requires the installation of associated Machine Learning jobs, as well as data coming in from Azure Activity Logs.
31
32### Anomaly Detection Setup
33
34Once the rule is enabled, the associated Machine Learning job will start automatically. You can view the Machine Learning job linked under the "Definition" panel of the detection rule. If the job does not start due to an error, the issue must be resolved for the job to commence successfully. For more details on setting up anomaly detection jobs, refer to the [helper guide](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/kibana/current/xpack-ml-anomalies.html).
35
36### Azure Activity Logs Integration Setup
37The Azure Activity Logs integration allows you to collect logs and metrics from Azure with Elastic Agent.
38
39#### The following steps should be executed in order to add the Elastic Agent System integration "Azure Activity Logs" to your system:
40- Go to the Kibana home page and click “Add integrations”.
41- In the query bar, search for “Azure Activity Logs” and select the integration to see more details about it.
42- Click “Add Azure Activity Logs”.
43- Configure the integration.
44- Click “Save and Continue”.
45- For more details on the integration refer to the [helper guide](https://www.elastic.co/docs/reference/integrations/azure/activitylogs).
46"""
47references = ["https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/prebuilt-ml-jobs.html"]
48risk_score = 21
49rule_id = "1eb74889-18c5-4f78-8010-d8aceb7a9ef4"
50severity = "low"
51tags = [
52    "Domain: Cloud",
53    "Data Source: Azure",
54    "Data Source: Azure Activity Logs",
55    "Rule Type: ML",
56    "Rule Type: Machine Learning",
57]
58type = "machine_learning"
59
60[[rule.threat]]
61framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
62
63[rule.threat.tactic]
64id = "TA0007"
65name = "Discovery"
66reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0007/"
67
68[[rule.threat.technique]]
69id = "T1526"
70name = "Cloud Service Discovery"
71reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1526/"
72
73[[rule.threat.technique]]
74id = "T1580"
75name = "Cloud Infrastructure Discovery"
76reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1580/"
77
78[[rule.threat]]
79framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
80
81[rule.threat.tactic]
82id = "TA0004"
83name = "Privilege Escalation"
84reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0004/"
85
86[[rule.threat]]
87framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
88
89[rule.threat.tactic]
90id = "TA0008"
91name = "Lateral Movement"
92reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0008/"