Back to results

AWS S3 Bucket Expiration Lifecycle Configuration Added

Identifies the addition of an expiration lifecycle configuration to an Amazon S3 bucket. S3 lifecycle rules can automatically delete or transition objects after a defined period. Adversaries can abuse them by…

Description

Identifies the addition of an expiration lifecycle configuration to an Amazon S3 bucket. S3 lifecycle rules can automatically delete or transition objects after a defined period. Adversaries can abuse them by configuring auto-deletion of logs, forensic evidence, or sensitive objects to cover their tracks. This rule detects the use of the PutBucketLifecycle or PutBucketLifecycleConfiguration APIs with Expiration parameters, which may indicate an attempt to automate the removal of data to hinder investigation or maintain operational secrecy after malicious activity.

Detection logic

Its licence does not clear it for publishing here

Sunturai publishes a detection's own text where the licence it arrived under has been reviewed and permits it, and Elastic License 2.0 has not. The query as its source wrote it, its canonical form and the hash that pins this revision are in the workspace record.

Detection requirements

Platform
ContainersESXiIaaSIdentity ProviderLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesOffice SuiteSaaSWindows

The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 3 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.

Log source category
event_index

Known benign triggers

  • Legitimate administrators may add lifecycle expiration configurations to reduce storage costs or enforce retention policies. Confirm whether this change aligns with an approved data management policy or infrastructure-as-code workflow. Known lifecycle automation processes (e.g., cost-management tools, data-lifecycle governance jobs) can be safely excluded from alerting once verified.

Detections can measure how the public catalogue is used — which detections people look for, and which pages bring them here. It sets a cookie that recognises this browser for 180 days. It is never linked to an account and never follows you to other sites. Privacy notice