AWS Account Closed
Detects the closure of an AWS account via the CloseAccount API. This can be called either by the account itself (account.amazonaws.com, self-service closure) or by an AWS Organizations management account against one…
Description
Detects the closure of an AWS account via the CloseAccount API. This can be called either by the account itself (account.amazonaws.com, self-service closure) or by an AWS Organizations management account against one of its member accounts (organizations.amazonaws.com). Account closure triggers a 90-day grace period during which the account is suspended before permanent termination, and is one of the most destructive and disruptive actions available in AWS. It removes access to all resources and data in the account for the duration of the suspension. An adversary with root-level access in a member account, or management-level access to an organization, may close accounts to destroy evidence, disrupt business operations, or eliminate compute and data resources. A malicious insider could use the same action for sabotage.
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
- ContainersESXiIaaSLinuxmacOSOffice SuiteSaaSWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 2 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
- Log source category
- event_index
Known benign triggers
- AWS accounts may be legitimately closed as part of organizational restructuring, account consolidation, or decommissioning of workloads. Legitimate closures should always have a corresponding change-management record and documented approval; any closure without one should be treated as a critical incident.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| docs.aws.amazon.com/accounts/latest/reference/API_CloseAccount.html | Only this detection cites it |
| docs.aws.amazon.com/organizations/latest/APIReference/API_CloseAccount.html | Only this detection cites it |
| docs.aws.amazon.com/organizations/latest/userguide/orgs_manage_accounts_close.html | Only this detection cites it |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- c45844ce-5e16-497d-88a6-e4bbc66133ce
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: Amazon Web ServicesData Source: AWSData Source: AWS CloudTrailDomain: CloudNoise: UnknownPerformance: FastPlatform: AWSResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: Custom Query (KQL)Tactic: ImpactUse Case: Threat Detection
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3