Microsoft Sentinel continues to evolve as a cloud-native Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) solution, empowering security teams to detect, investigate, and respond to threats with speed and precision. The latest update introduces advanced User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA), expanding support for new eligible logs, including multi-cloud sources and the Okta identity provider. This leap strengthens coverage and productivity by surfacing anomalies, actionable insights, and rich security context across entities and raw logs.
Building on these enhancements, Sentinel UEBA now enables security teams to correlate activity seamlessly across diverse platforms like Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and Okta, providing a unified risk perspective and empowering SOC analysts to quickly identify suspicious patterns such as unusual logins, privilege escalations, or anomalous access attempts. By leveraging behavioral baselines and contextual data about users, devices, and cloud resources, organizations benefit from improved detection accuracy and a reduction in false positives, streamlining investigations and accelerating threat response. For our Government Customers and for information about feature availability in US Government clouds, see the Microsoft Sentinel tables in Cloud feature availability for US Government customers.
What’s New in Sentinel UEBA?
Expanded Log Support: Sentinel now ingests and analyzes logs from a broader set of sources, including multi-cloud environments and Okta. This means security teams can correlate user and entity activity across Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and Okta, gaining a unified view of risk.
Actionable Insights: UEBA surfaces anomalies, such as unusual login patterns, privilege escalations, and suspicious access attempts by analyzing behavioral baselines and deviations. These insights help SOC analysts prioritize investigations and respond to threats faster.
Rich Security Context: By combining raw logs with contextual information about users, devices, and cloud resources, Sentinel UEBA provides a holistic view of each entity’s risk posture. This enables more accurate detection and reduces false positives.
To maximize the benefits of Sentinel UEBA’s expanded capabilities, organizations should focus on integrating all relevant cloud and identity sources, establishing behavioral baselines for users and entities, and leveraging automated response workflows to streamline investigations. Continuous tuning of UEBA policies and proactive onboarding of new log sources, such as Okta and multi-cloud environments, ensures that security teams remain agile in the face of evolving threats. By utilizing dedicated dashboards to monitor for anomalies like impossible travel and privilege changes, and by training SOC analysts to interpret insights and automate incident responses, teams can significantly enhance their threat detection and mitigation strategies while fostering a culture of ongoing learning and operational excellence.
Figure 1: From Microsoft Learn, UEBA Engine
Key Practices for Maximizing UEBA
To help organizations fully leverage the latest capabilities of Sentinel UEBA, adopting proven practices is essential. The following key strategies will empower security teams to maximize value, enhance detection, and streamline their operations.
- Integrate Multi-Cloud Logs: Ensure all relevant cloud and identity sources (Azure, AWS, GCP, Okta) are connected to Sentinel for comprehensive coverage.
- Baseline Normal Behavior: Use UEBA to establish behavioral baselines for users and entities, making it easier to spot anomalies.
- Automate Response: Leverage Sentinel’s SOAR capabilities to automate investigation and response workflows for detected anomalies.
- Continuous Tuning: Regularly review and refine UEBA policies to adapt to evolving threats and organizational changes.
This image shows how Microsoft Sentinel UEBA analyzes user and entity behavior to detect suspicious activity and anomalies, helping security teams identify advanced threats and insider risks more accurately.
Figure 2: From Microsoft Learn, UEBA pipeline
Call to Action
Start by onboarding Okta and multi-cloud logs into Sentinel. Use UEBA dashboards to monitor for unusual activities, such as impossible travel, multiple failed logins, or privilege changes. Automate alerts and incident response to reduce manual workload and accelerate threat mitigation.
Assess your current log sources and identity providers. Onboard Okta and multi-cloud logs into Sentinel, enable UEBA, and start monitoring behavioral anomalies. Train your SOC team on interpreting UEBA insights and automating response actions. Stay ahead of threats by continuously tuning your analytics and integrating new sources as your environment evolves.
Reference Links for Sentinel UEBA
- Advanced threat detection with User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) in Microsoft Sentinel
- Enable User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) in Microsoft Sentinel
- Microsoft Sentinel User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) reference
- Investigate incidents with UEBA data
- What's new in Microsoft Sentinel
- Microsoft Sentinel documentation home
About the Author: Hi! Jacques “Jack” here, Microsoft Technical Trainer. I’m passionate about empowering teams to master security and operational excellence. As you advance your skills, pair technical expertise with a commitment to sharing knowledge and ongoing training. Create opportunities to lead workshops, stay current on threats and best practices, and foster a culture of continuous learning.
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