Cisco Secure Firewall - Potential Data Exfiltration
The following analytic detects potentially suspicious large volumes of data sent by the connection initiator on flows from internal to external networks. It leverages Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense…
Description
The following analytic detects potentially suspicious large volumes of data sent by the connection initiator on flows from internal to external networks. It leverages Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense ConnectionEvent logs and thresholds on InitiatorBytes (bytes transmitted by the initiator), which for typical inside-initiated client sessions approximates upload or outbound payload from the internal host and avoids flagging large downloads where most bytes appear in ResponderBytes. Connections where the initiator sent at least 100 MB are flagged, as these may indicate unauthorized data exfiltration, especially if associated with unusual users, hosts, or processes. This analytic is scoped to inside-to-outside flows using a macro (cisco_secure_firewall_inside_to_outside) to abstract environment-specific zone definitions. If confirmed malicious, this behavior may reflect data staging and exfiltration over an encrypted or stealthy transport.
Detection logic
Detection requirements
- Platform
- ESXiLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 3 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
- Log source category
- cisco_secure_firewall_threat_defense_connection_event
Known benign triggers
- Large initiator-side transfers may occur due to legitimate activities such as cloud backups, file syncing, or developer build deployments. Backup servers, CI/CD pipelines, and enterprise sync tools (e.g., OneDrive, Dropbox) may exhibit similar patterns. Uncommon connection initiation (e.g., certain server-initiated or asymmetric paths) can change which side is logged as the initiator; tune or filter those scenarios if needed. Additional validation using user context, scheduled task windows, or endpoint telemetry is recommended to reduce false positives.
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 |
|---|---|
| www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/firepower/741/api/FQE/secure_firewall_estreamer_fqe_guide_740.pdf | 18 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- 3d8536b6-52b4-4c3e-b695-3f2e90bb22be
- Tagged by the source as
- Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense AnalyticsNetworknetworkSplunk CloudSplunk EnterpriseSplunk Enterprise Securitynetwork
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