Detection: Okta New API Token Created

Updated Date: 2026-05-13 ID: c3d22720-35d3-4da4-bd0a-740d37192bd4 Author: Michael Haag, Mauricio Velazco, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the creation of a new API token within an Okta tenant. It uses OktaIm2 logs ingested via the Splunk Add-on for Okta Identity Cloud to identify events where the system.api_token.create command is executed. This activity is significant because creating a new API token can indicate potential account takeover attempts or unauthorized access, allowing an adversary to maintain persistence. If confirmed malicious, this could enable attackers to execute API calls, access sensitive data, and perform administrative actions within the Okta environment.

Search

 1
 2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count max(_time) as lastTime, min(_time) as firstTime FROM datamodel=Change
 3  WHERE All_Changes.action=created
 4    AND
 5    All_Changes.command=system.api_token.create
 6  BY _time span=5m All_Changes.user
 7     All_Changes.result All_Changes.command sourcetype
 8     All_Changes.src All_Changes.action All_Changes.object_category
 9     All_Changes.dest
10
11| `drop_dm_object_name("All_Changes")`
12
13| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
14
15| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
16
17| `okta_new_api_token_created_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Okta	Other	`'OktaIM2:log'`	`'Okta'`

Macros Used

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

okta_new_api_token_created_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
T1078.001	Default Accounts	Initial Access

Delivery

Exploitation

Installation

DE.CM

CIS 10

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)	Yes
Rule Title	`%name%`
Rule Description	`%description%`
Notable Event Fields	user, dest
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event)	No

TTP detections generate a Finding (Notable) and may generate Intermediate Findings (Risk Events) for associated entities.

Implementation

The analytic leverages Okta OktaIm2 logs to be ingested using the Splunk Add-on for Okta Identity Cloud (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/6553).

Known False Positives

False positives may be present. Tune Okta and tune the analytic to ensure proper fidelity. Modify risk score as needed.

Associated Analytic Story

Finding

Title	Entity Field	Entity Type	Risk Score
A new API token was created in Okta by [$user$]. Investigate further to determine if this was authorized.	user	user	50

References

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	✅ Passing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	✅ Passing	Dataset	`Okta`	`OktaIM2:log`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`Okta`	`OktaIM2:log`

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: 14