Name:Cisco Duo Bulk Policy Deletion id:983be012-e408-4cb0-b87f-6756bb5f7047 version:1 date:2025-07-10 author:Patrick Bareiss, Splunk status:production type:TTP Description:The following analytic detects instances where a Duo administrator performs a bulk deletion of more than three policies in a single action. It identifies this behavior by searching Duo activity logs for the policy_bulk_delete action, extracting the names of deleted policies, and counting them. If the count exceeds three, the event is flagged. This behavior is significant for a Security Operations Center (SOC) because mass deletion of security policies can indicate malicious activity, such as an attacker or rogue administrator attempting to weaken or disable security controls, potentially paving the way for further compromise. Detecting and investigating such actions promptly is critical, as the impact of this attack could include reduced security posture, increased risk of unauthorized access, and potential data breaches. Monitoring for bulk policy deletions helps ensure that any suspicious or unauthorized changes to security configurations are quickly identified and addressed to protect organizational assets and maintain compliance. Data_source:
-Cisco Duo Administrator
search:`cisco_duo_administrator` action=policy_bulk_delete | rename username as user | spath input=description | rex field=policies max_match=0 "(?<policy_name>[^:,]+):\s+" | eval policy_count=mvcount(policy_name) | where policy_count > 3 | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by action actionlabel description user admin_email policy_count | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `cisco_duo_bulk_policy_deletion_filter`
how_to_implement:The analytic leverages Duo activity logs to be ingested using the Cisco Security Cloud App (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/7404). known_false_positives:unknown References: -https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/7404 drilldown_searches: name:'View the detection results for - "$user$"' search:'%original_detection_search% | search user = "$user$"' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' name:'View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$user$"' search:'| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$user$") starthoursago=168 | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' tags: analytic_story: - 'Cisco Duo Suspicious Activity' asset_type:Identity mitre_attack_id: - 'T1556' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' security_domain:identity