Data Exfiltration

Use the IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension to closely monitor for data exfiltration activities in your deployment.

Important: To avoid content errors in this content extension, keep the associated DSMs up to date. DSMs are updated as a part of the automatic updates. If automatic updates are not enabled, download the most recent version of the associated DSMs from IBM® Fix Central (https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral).

About the Data Exfiltration extension

The QRadar Content Extension pack for Data Exfiltration adds several rules and saved searches that focus on detecting data exfiltration activities.

Examples of data exfiltration activities are:

Large outbound data transfer to a known malicious IP or to an online file storage service.
Slow and stealthy outbound data transfer over several days or months.
Data leakage or data loss in the cloud. For example, if a confidential file is uploaded to a publicly accessible folder or bucket, or if a confidential file's permissions are changed to be world readable or accessible.
Sharing confidential files. For example, if confidential files are shared with a malicious host, guest user, or with a user from outside the organization.

IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extensions

IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.5
IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.4
IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.3
IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.2
IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.1
IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.0

IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.5

This version of IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension includes a fix for error that caused the Exfiltration rule group to have its name and description listed as null when called from the API.

The following table shows the custom event properties that are new or updated in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.5.

Note: The custom properties that are included in the following table are placeholders. You can download other content extensions that include custom properties with these names, or you can create your own.

Table 1. Custom Event Properties in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.5
Custom Property	Optimized	Found in
File Directory	Yes	Cisco AMP Cisco Firepower Linux Microsoft Office 365 Microsoft Windows osquery Microsoft 365 Defender
Recipient Host	Yes	Cisco Ironport Microsoft Exchange Microsoft Office 365 Postfix
Recipient_User	Yes	Cisco Ironport Microsoft Exchange Microsoft Office 365 Postfix
UrlHost	Yes	Blue Coat Cisco Ironport IBM Cloud Discovery App for QRadar McAfee EPO Squid Microsoft 365 Defender
Web Category	Yes	Blue Coat Cisco Ironport

The following table shows the rules that are new or updated in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration 1.0.5.

Table 2. Rules in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration 1.0.5.
Name	Description
Excessive File Access Events From the Same Source IP	Changed excluded IP address range from 192.168.2.0/24 to 192.0.2.0/24.
Excessive File Access Events From the Same Username	Changed excluded IP address range from 192.168.2.0/24 to 192.0.2.0/24.
Excessive file download events from the same username	Changed excluded IP address range from 192.168.2.0/24 to 192.0.2.0/24.
Excessive File Downloads Events From the Same Source IP	Changed excluded IP address range from 192.168.2.0/24 to 192.0.2.0/24.

_{(Back to top)}

IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.4

The following table shows the rules and building blocks that are new or updated in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration 1.0.4.

Table 3. Rules and Building Blocks in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration 1.0.4.
Type	Name	Description
Building Block	BB:BehaviorDefinition: Potentially Hostile Recipient Host	Added filter to improve performance.
Building Block	BB:CategoryDefinition: Communication with Potential Hostile Destination IPs	Added a flow direction filter to improve performance.
Building Block	BB:CategoryDefinition: Communication with Potential Hostile Recipient Hosts	Removed this building block.
Building Block	BB:BehaviorDefinition: External Recipient Host	Fixed the reference set ID link on this building block.
Rule	Excessive File Access Events From the Same Source IP	Added same location (log source) to rule logic.
Rule	Excessive File Access Events From the Same Username	Added same location (log source) to rule logic.
Rule	Excessive File Downloads Events From the Same Source IP	Added same location (log source) to rule logic.
Rule	Excessive File Downloads Events From the Same Username	Added same location (log source) to rule logic.
Rule	File Accessed or Downloaded From a Malicious IP	Changed response limiter to Destination IP.
Rule	Large Outbound Data Transfer	Removed due to a known defect that breaks import of threshold rules.
Rule	Large Outbound Data Transfer for Flows	Removed due to a known defect that breaks import of threshold rules.
Rule	Large Outbound Data Transfer to a File Storage Host	Removed due to a known defect that breaks import of threshold rules.
Rule	Large Outbound Data Transfer to a Malicious Host or IP	Removed due to a known defect that breaks import of threshold rules.
Rule	Large Outbound Data Transfer to a Malicious IP for Flows	Removed due to a known defect that breaks import of threshold rules.

The following table shows the saved searches that are new or updated in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration 1.0.4.

Table 4. Saved Searches in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration 1.0.4
Name	Description
Large Outbound Data Transfer	Removed the having clause from the AQL search.
Large Outbound Data Transfer - Anomaly Monitoring	Removed the having clause from the AQL search.
Large Outbound Data Transfer to a File Storage Host	Removed the having clause from the AQL search.
Large Outbound Data Transfer to Malicious Host or IP	Removed the having clause from the AQL search.
Large Outbound Data Transfer to Malicious IP	Removed the having clause from the AQL search.

_{(Back to top)}

IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.3

Fixed errors in the Pulse dashboard which caused AQL queries to parse incorrectly.

The following table shows the building blocks are renamed in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.3.

Table 5. Building blocks renamed n IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.3
Old Name	New Name
BB:BehaviorDefinition: External Email Addresses	BB:BehaviorDefinition: External Recipient Host
BB:BehaviorDefinition: Potentially Hostile Email Host	BB:BehaviorDefinition: Potentially Hostile Recipient Host

_{(Back to top)}

IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.2

Updated the conditions for the following rules:

Large Outbound Data Transfer
Large Outbound Data Transfer for Flows
Large Outbound Data Transfer to a File Storage Host
Large Outbound Data Transfer to a Malicious Host or IP
Large Outbound Data Transfer to a Malicious IP for Flows

_{(Back to top)}

IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.1

Updated the QNI : Confidential Content Being Transferred rule to include the records that triggered the rule in the offense.

_{(Back to top)}

IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.0

The following table shows the custom event properties in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.0.

Table 6. Custom Event Properties in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.0
Custom Property	Optimized	Found in
BytesReceived	Yes	Blue Coat Cisco Firepower Cisco Ironport Juniper SSL VPN Palo Alto PA Series Squid
BytesSent	Yes	Blue Coat Cisco Firepower Juniper SSL VPN Palo Alto PA Series
File Directory	Yes	Cisco AMP Cisco Firepower Linux Microsoft Office 365 Microsoft Windows osquery Microsoft 365 Defender
File Extension	Yes	Amazon AWS Blue Coat Cisco AMP Cisco Ironport McAfee EPO Microsoft Office 365 Microsoft Windows osquery Postfix Squid Microsoft 365 Defender
Filename	Yes	Amazon AWS Azure Bit9 Security Platform Blue Coat Carbon Black Protection Cisco AMP Cisco Firepower Cisco Ironport Endpoint FireEye MPS Fortinet FortiAnalyzer Linux McAfee EPO Microsoft Office 365 Microsoft Windows osquery Palo Alto PA Series Postfix Squid Sysmon VMware Microsoft 365 Defender
MessageID	Yes	Cisco Ironport Microsoft Exchange Postfix
Policy Name	Yes	Amazon AWS IBM Guardium Microsoft Office 365
Public Permission	Yes	Amazon AWS
Recipient Host	Yes	Cisco Ironport Microsoft Exchange Microsoft Office 365 Postfix
Recipient_User	Yes	Cisco Ironport Microsoft Exchange Microsoft Office 365 Postfix
Storage Name	Yes	Amazon AWS
Target User Area	Yes	Microsoft Office 365
URL	Yes	Blue Coat Check Point Cisco Ironport IBM Security QRadar DNS Analyzer FireEye MPS Fortinet FortiAnalyzer Juniper SSL VPN McAfee EPO Palo Alto PA Series Squid Symantec Endpoint Protection Threat Monitoring Microsoft 365 Defender
UrlHost	Yes	Blue Coat Cisco Ironport IBM Cloud Discovery App for QRadar McAfee EPO Squid Microsoft 365 Defender
Web Category	Yes	Blue Coat Cisco Ironport

The following table shows the building blocks and rules in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.0.

Table 7. Building blocks and rules in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.0
Type	Name	Description
Building Block	BB:BehaviorDefinition: External Email Addresses	This Building Block identifies recipient hosts that are not in the Corporate Email Domains reference set. Note: The Corporate Email Domains reference set must be populated.
Building Block	BB:BehaviorDefinition: Potentially Hostile Email Host	This Building Block identifies an email that is being sent to a malicious host. The host is malicious if the X-Force® categorization for it returns one of the following: Phishing URLs, Spam URLs, Malware, Botnet Command and Control Server, or Cryptocurrency Mining.
Building Block	BB:CategoryDefinition: Communication with Potential Hostile Destination IPs	This Building Block identifies communications to malicious IPs. The host is malicious if the X-Force categorization for it returns one of the following: Malware, Botnet Command and Control Server, Spam, Cryptocurrency Mining, Scanning IPs, Bots, or Phishing.
Building Block	BB:CategoryDefinition: Communication with Potential Hostile Recipient Hosts	This Building Block identifies communications to malicious hosts. The host is malicious if the X-Force categorization for it returns one of the following: Botnet Command and Control Server, Malware, Phishing URLs, Cryptocurrency Mining, or Spam URLs.
Building Block	BB:CategoryDefinition: Countries/Regions with Restricted Access	Edit this BB to include any geographic location that typically would not be allowed to access the enterprise.
Building Block	BB:CategoryDefinition: File Deleted Events	Edit this Building Block to include any file deletion event categories.
Building Block	BB:CategoryDefinition: Link Shared Events	Edit this Building Block to include link shared related event categories.
Building Block	BB:CategoryDefinition: Object Access Events	Edit this Building Block to include all object (file, folder, and so on) access-related event categories.
Building Block	BB:CategoryDefinition: Object Download Events	Edit this Building Block to include all object (file, folder, and so on) download-related event categories.
Building Block	BB:CategoryDefinition: Object Upload Events	Edit this Building Block to include all object (file, folder, and so on) upload related event categories.
Building Block	BB:DeviceDefinition: DLP Devices	This Building Block defines all data loss prevention (DLP) devices on the system.
Building Block	BB:DeviceDefinition: Mail	This Building Block defines all Mail devices on the system.
Building Block	BB:Exfiltration: Files in Sensitive Directories	Detects files that are in sensitive paths. Sensitive paths are defined in the Sensitive File Paths reference set. Note: The Sensitive File Paths reference set must be populated.
Rule	Database Backup or Compressed File Uploaded to a Publicly Accessible Folder	This rule triggers when a database backup or a compressed file is uploaded to a publicly accessible folder or bucket. The Publicly Accessible Folders reference set must be populated with the relevant folder names. Note: The Critical File Extensions reference set is pre-populated with critical file extensions, and can be tuned.
Rule	Email containing Sensitive File Sent to External Host	This rule triggers when an email that contains sensitive data is sent to an email address that is outside of the organization. Note: The Sensitive File Directories reference set, must be populated with the relevant folders name. The Corporate Email Domains reference set must be populated with the organization's email domain.
Rule	Email containing Sensitive File Sent to Potentially Hostile Host	This rule triggers when an email that contains a sensitive file is being sent to a host that is known for hostile activities such as Phishing, Spam, Malware, Botnet Command and Control, or Cryptocurrency Mining. The Files in Sensitive Directories reference set is populated by the Files in Sensitive File Directories rule. Note: The Sensitive Directories reference set must be populated.
Rule	Excessive File Access Events From the Same Source IP	This rule triggers when at least 15 different files are accessed by the same source IP within 5 minutes. Note: Edit the AQL function to exclude known legitimate download activities such as OS Updates or Software Updates.
Rule	Excessive File Access Events From the Same Username	This rule triggers when at least 15 different files are accessed by the same user name within 5 minutes. Note: Edit the AQL function to exclude known legitimate download activities such as OS Updates or Software Updates.
Rule	Excessive File Downloads Events From the Same Source IP	This rule triggers when at least 10 different files are downloaded from the same source IP within 5 minutes. Note: Edit the AQL function to exclude known legitimate download activities such as OS Updates or Software Updates.
Rule	Excessive File Downloads Events From the Same Username	This rule triggers when at least 15 different files are downloaded by the same user name within 5 minutes. Note: Edit the AQL function to exclude known legitimate download activities such as OS Updates or Software Updates.
Rule	File Accessed or Downloaded From a Malicious IP	This rule triggers when a file is accessed or downloaded from a malicious IP such as known Command and Control Servers or Malware Servers.
Rule	File or Folder Shared With an Email Hosted on a Potentially Hostile Domain	This rule triggers when a file or folder is shared with an email that is associated with hostile domains such as Spam URLs, Phishing URLs, Malware, or Cryptocurrency Mining.
Rule	File or Folder Shared With an External Email Address	This rule triggers when a file or a folder is shared with non-corporate email address domains. Note: The Corporate Email Domains reference set must be populated with the organization’s email domain.
Rule	Files Deleted from Sensitive File Directories	This rule detects when there is a file deletion event from a sensitive file directory and then removes the file name from the Files in Sensitive Directories reference set as a Rule Response. Note: In IBM Security QRadar 7.3.2 and earlier versions, the reference set does not link properly to Files in Sensitive Directories - AlphaNumeric. This was corrected in 7.3.2 patch 1. If you do not have 7.3.2 patch 1 installed, you can do the following: Select the rule, and click Next. Under Rule Response, click the list for the reference set, and select Files in Sensitive Directories - AlphaNumeric.
Rule	Files in Sensitive File Directories	This rule detects when a new file is found in a sensitive file directory and then adds the file name to the Files in Sensitive Directories reference set as a Rule response.
Rule	Large Outbound Data Transfer	This anomaly rule triggers when more than 5 GB of data is transferred to an IP address within 4 days.
Rule	Large Outbound Data Transfer for Flows	This flow anomaly rule triggers when more than 1 GB of data is transferred within 24 hours to a single IP address. For more information, see the Large Outbound Data Transfer Network Activity saved search.
Rule	Large Outbound Data Transfer to a File Storage Host	This event anomaly rule triggers when more than 1 GB of data is transferred to a URL classified under the X-Force category Web Storage, within 24 hours. The rule is also configured to match on the proxy category populated in the Reference Set, File Storage Web Categories. For more information, see the Large Outbound Data Transfer to a File Storage Host Log Activity saved search.
Rule	Large Outbound Data Transfer to a Malicious Host or IP	This event anomaly rule triggers when more than 1 GB of data is transferred within 24 hours to an IP address or URL that is classified under one of the following X-Force categories: Malware, Botnet Command and Control Server, Spam, Cryptocurrency Mining, Scanning IPs (only on IP addresses), Phishing, or Bots (only on IP addresses). The rule is also configured to match on the proxy category populated in the Reference Set, Malicious Web Categories. For more information, see the Large Outbound Data Transfer to Malicious Host or IP Log Activity saved search.
Rule	Large Outbound Data Transfer to a Malicious IP for Flows	This flow anomaly rule triggers when more than 1 GB of data is transferred within 24 hours to an IP address that is classified under one of the following X-Force categories: Malware, Botnet Command and Control Server, Spam, Cryptocurrency Mining, Scanning IPs, Phishing, or Bots. For more information, see the Large Outbound Data Transfer to Malicious IP Network Activity saved search.
Rule	QNI : Confidential Content Being Transferred	This rule detects confidential content that is being transferred to a remote destination. Suspect content can be tuned with YARA rules. For more information, see the QNI documentation.
Rule	Sensitive File Accessed or Downloaded From Regions or Countries with Restricted Access	This rule triggers when a confidential file is accessed or downloaded from a region or country with restricted access. These regions are defined in the BB:CategoryDefinition: Countries/Regions with Restricted Access building block.
Rule	Sensitive File Permissions Allow Public Access	This rule triggers when the permissions for a sensitive file are publicly accessible. The Files in Sensitive Directories reference set is populated by the Files in Sensitive File Directories rule. Note: The Sensitive Directories reference set must be populated.
Rule	Sensitive File Shared with a Guest User or Group	This rule triggers when a sensitive file is shared with a guest user or group. The Files in Sensitive Directories reference set is populated by the Files in Sensitive File Directories rule, which uses the Sensitive Directories reference set. Note: The Sensitive Directories and Guest Login Users reference sets must be populated.
Rule	Sensitive File Uploaded to a Publicly Accessible Folder	This rule triggers when a sensitive file is uploaded to a publicly accessible folder or bucket.
Rule	Suspicious Activity on Confidential Data Detected by DLP Devices	This rule triggers when suspicious activity on confidential data is detected from a DLP Device. The DLP devices are defined in the BB:DeviceDefinition: DLP Devices building block. Note: The DLP Policies reference set must be populated.

The following table shows the reference data in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.0.

Table 8. Reference Data in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.0
Type	Name	Description
Reference Set	Confidential/Sensitive File Names	Contains a list of confidential or sensitive file names.
Reference Set	Corporate Email Domains	Contains a list of corporate email domains.
Reference Set	Critical File Extensions	Contains a list of critical file extensions.
Reference Set	DLP Policies	Contains a list of DLP policies.
Reference Set	File Storage Web Categories	Contains a list of file storage web categories.
Reference Set	Files in Sensitive Directories	Contains a list of file names in sensitive directories.
Reference Set	Guest Login Users	Contains a list of guest login user names.
Reference Set	Legitimate Data Transfer Destination IPs	Contains a list of legitimate data transfer destination IPs.
Reference Set	Malicious Web Categories	Contains a list of malicious web categories.
Reference Set	Publicly Accessible Folders	Contains a list of names of publicly accessible folders.
Reference Set	Sensitive File Directories	Contains a list of sensitive file directories.

The following table shows the saved searches in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.0.

Table 9. Saved Searches in IBM Security QRadar Data Exfiltration Content Extension 1.0.0
Name	Description
Large Outbound Data Transfer	Shows all events with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1 GB) to remote hosts.
Large Outbound Data Transfer to a File Storage Host	Shows all events with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1 GB) to file storage hosts.
Large Outbound Data Transfer to Malicious Host or IP	Shows all events with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1GB) to malicious host or IP.
Slow Outbound Data Transfer Over Multiple Days	Shows all events with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1 GB) to remote hosts over multiple days.
Slow Outbound Data Transfer Over Multiple Days Grouped By Source IP and Username	Shows all events with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1 GB) to remote hosts over multiple days grouped by source IP and user name.
Slow Outbound Data Transfer Over Multiple Months	Shows all events with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1 GB) to remote hosts over multiple months.
Large Outbound Data Transfer	Shows all flows with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1 GB) to remote IPs.
Large Outbound Data Transfer to a Malicious IP	Shows all flows with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1 GB) to malicious IP.
Slow Outbound Data Transfer Over Multiple Days	Shows all flows with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1 GB) to remote IPs over multiple days.
Slow Outbound Data Transfer Over Multiple Days Grouped By Source IP	Shows all flows with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1 GB) to remote IPs over multiple months grouped by source IP.
Slow Outbound Data Transfer Over Multiple Months	Shows all flows with large outbound data transfer (greater than 1 GB) to remote IPs over multiple months.

_{(Back to top)}