AWS SES Email Identity Verified Then Deleted
Detects an SES email identity being verified and subsequently deleted within a 30-minute window, performed by the same AWS identity. Amazon SES requires email addresses and domains to be verified before they can be…
Description
Detects an SES email identity being verified and subsequently deleted within a 30-minute window, performed by the same AWS identity. Amazon SES requires email addresses and domains to be verified before they can be used as senders. An adversary who obtains SES credentials may verify a domain or address they control, use it to send phishing or spam email, then delete the identity to remove evidence of the sending domain from the account's verified identity list. This verify-use-delete pattern is a recognized attacker technique for SES abuse.
Detection logic
Its licence does not clear it for publishing here
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Detection requirements
- Platform
- ContainersESXiLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesOffice SuitePREWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 2 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
Known benign triggers
- Testing workflows that verify a sandbox email address and then clean it up may trigger this rule. Confirm that the email identity verified and deleted corresponds to a planned test rather than a production or attacker-controlled domain.
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/ses/latest/APIReference/API_DeleteIdentity.html | Only this detection cites it |
| docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/APIReference/API_VerifyEmailIdentity.html | Only this detection cites it |
| permiso.io/blog/s/aws-ses-pionage-detecting-ses-abuse/ | 3 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- 8e4bde35-125d-4eb3-9a2e-d7e77a053a08
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: AWS CloudTrailDomain: CloudPlatform: AWSResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: ES|QLService: AWS SESTactic: Defense EvasionTactic: Resource Development
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 2