AWS SES Account Email Sending Enabled

Description

Detects when account-level email sending is explicitly enabled in Amazon SES, via the v1 UpdateAccountSendingEnabled API with Enabled: true or the v2 PutAccountSendingAttributes API with SendingEnabled: true. Account-level sending is commonly paused by an administrator, or by automation wired to CloudWatch reputation alarms when bounce or complaint rates rise. An attacker who compromises an AWS account may re-enable sending to restore a paused capability as part of phishing infrastructure setup, allowing bulk email under the victim organization's trusted sending domain. Neither API can resume sending that AWS itself has paused.

Detection logic

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Detection requirements

Platform: PRE
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the ATT&CK technique it maps to.
Log source category: event_index

Known benign triggers

SES account sending may be legitimately re-enabled by an administrator after a sending pause for bounce/complaint rate investigation or maintenance. Validate against a change management record or scheduled maintenance window. This API is rarely called in normal operations.

References

Links the source published beside this detection. Reference is the link the source wrote, unmodified. Class is decided by this catalogue from the host and path, not stated by the source. Cited by counts published detections citing the same resource, including this one, and the sources beneath it count the repositories this catalogue ingests, which is not the same as independent research.
Reference	Class	Cited by
docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/APIReference-V2/API_PutAccountSendingAttributes.html	Product documentation	Only this detection cites it
docs.aws.amazon.com/ses/latest/APIReference/API_UpdateAccountSendingEnabled.html	Product documentation	Only this detection cites it
permiso.io/blog/s/aws-ses-pionage-detecting-ses-abuse/	Unclassified	3
www.rapid7.com/blog/post/dr-threat-actors-aws-workmail-phishing-campaigns/	Unclassified	2

Detection rules

AWS SES Account Email Sending Enabled

Description

Detection logic

Detection requirements

Known benign triggers

MITRE ATT&CK mappings

References

From the source

Licence

Authorship

Detection rules