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MediumSplunk security contentPatrick Bareiss +1

AWS Excessive Security Scanning

The following analytic identifies excessive security scanning activities in AWS by detecting a high number of Describe, List, or Get API calls from a single user. It leverages AWS CloudTrail logs to count distinct…

Description

The following analytic identifies excessive security scanning activities in AWS by detecting a high number of Describe, List, or Get API calls from a single user. It leverages AWS CloudTrail logs to count distinct event names and flags users with more than 50 such events. This behavior is significant as it may indicate reconnaissance activities by an attacker attempting to map out your AWS environment. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized access, data exfiltration, or further exploitation of your cloud infrastructure.

Detection logic

Detection requirements

Platform
IaaSIdentity ProviderOffice SuiteSaaS

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

Log source category
aws_cloudtrail

Known benign triggers

  • While this search has no known false positives.

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