ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1114.002 | Remote Email Collection | Collection |
Detection: O365 Multiple Mailboxes Accessed via API
Description
The following analytic detects when a high number of Office 365 Exchange mailboxes are accessed via API (Microsoft Graph API or Exchange Web Services) within a short timeframe. It leverages 'MailItemsAccessed' operations in Exchange, using AppId and regex to identify API interactions. This activity is significant as it may indicate unauthorized mass email access, potentially signaling data exfiltration or account compromise. If confirmed malicious, attackers could gain access to sensitive information, leading to data breaches and further exploitation of compromised accounts. The threshold is set to flag over five unique mailboxes accessed within 10 minutes, but should be tailored to your environment.
Search
1`o365_management_activity` Workload=Exchange Operation=MailItemsAccessed AppId=* ClientAppId=*
2| bucket span=10m _time
3| eval matchRegex=if(match(ClientInfoString, "^Client=WebServices;ExchangeWebServices"), 1, 0)
4| search (AppId="00000003-0000-0000-c000-000000000000" OR matchRegex=1)
5| stats values(ClientIPAddress) as src_ip dc(user) as unique_mailboxes values(user) as user by _time ClientAppId ClientInfoString
6| where unique_mailboxes > 5
7| `o365_multiple_mailboxes_accessed_via_api_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
O365 MailItemsAccessed | N/A | 'o365:management:activity' |
'o365' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
o365_management_activity | sourcetype=o365:management:activity |
o365_multiple_mailboxes_accessed_via_api_filter | search * |
o365_multiple_mailboxes_accessed_via_api_filter
is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.
Annotations
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 Notable | Yes |
Rule Title | %name% |
Rule Description | %description% |
Notable Event Fields | user, dest |
Creates Risk Event | True |
Implementation
You must install the Splunk Microsoft Office 365 Add-on and ingest Office 365 management activity events.
Known False Positives
Legitimate applications may access multiple mailboxes via an API. You can filter by the ClientAppId or the CLientIpAddress fields.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
An Oauth application identified with id $ClientAppId$ accessed multiple mailboxes in a short period of time via an API. | 42 | 70 | 60 |
References
Detection Testing
Test Type | Status | Dataset | Source | Sourcetype |
---|---|---|---|---|
Validation | ✅ Passing | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Unit | ✅ Passing | Dataset | o365 |
o365:management:activity |
Integration | ✅ Passing | Dataset | o365 |
o365:management:activity |
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: 3