O365 Compliance Content Search Started
The following analytic detects when a content search is initiated within the Office 365 Security and Compliance Center. It leverages the SearchCreated operation from the o365_management_activity logs under the…
Description
The following analytic detects when a content search is initiated within the Office 365 Security and Compliance Center. It leverages the SearchCreated operation from the o365_management_activity logs under the SecurityComplianceCenter workload. This activity is significant as it may indicate an attempt to access sensitive organizational data, including emails and documents. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized data access, potential data exfiltration, and compliance violations. Monitoring this behavior helps ensure the integrity and security of organizational data.
Detection logic
Detection requirements
- Platform
- Office SuiteWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the ATT&CK technique it maps to.
Known benign triggers
- Compliance content searches may be executed for legitimate purposes, filter as needed.
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 |
|---|---|
| attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1114/002/ | 8 |
| learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/ediscovery-content-search-overview | 2 |
| learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/ediscovery-keyword-queries-and-search-conditions | 2 |
| learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/ediscovery-search-for-activities-in-the-audit-log | 2 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- f4cabbc7-c19a-4e41-8be5-98daeaccbb50
- Tagged by the source as
- Office 365 Collection TechniquesO365 TenantcloudSplunk CloudSplunk EnterpriseSplunk Enterprise Securityaudit
Licence
- Published under
- Apache License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
- Obtained under
- Apache-2.0Read the origin licence
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Aug 26, 2026
- Version
- 1