Azure Storage Account Keys Accessed by Privileged User
Identifies unusual high-privileged access to Azure Storage Account keys by users with Owner, Contributor, or Storage Account Contributor roles. This technique was observed in STORM-0501 ransomware campaigns where…
Description
Identifies unusual high-privileged access to Azure Storage Account keys by users with Owner, Contributor, or Storage Account Contributor roles. This technique was observed in STORM-0501 ransomware campaigns where compromised identities with high-privilege Azure RBAC roles retrieved access keys to perform unauthorized operations on Storage Accounts. Microsoft recommends using Shared Access Signature (SAS) models instead of direct key access for improved security. This rule detects when a user principal with high-privilege roles accesses storage keys for the first time in 7 days.
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 2 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
- Log source category
- event_index
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.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-account-keys-manage | Only this detection cites it |
| www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/08/27/storm-0501s-evolving-techniques-lead-to-cloud-based-ransomware/ | 13 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- 8b4d6c3a-2e9f-4b7c-9a5d-6f8e3c1b4d2a
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: AzureData Source: Azure Activity LogsDomain: CloudDomain: IdentityNoise: LowPerformance: FastPlatform: AzureResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: New TermsService: Azure StorageTactic: Credential AccessUse Case: Threat Detection
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3