Kaspersky Unified Monitoring and Analysis Platform

Simple correlation rules

April 8, 2024

ID 221199

Simple correlation rules are used to define simple sequences of events.

The correlation rule window contains the following settings tabs:

  • General—used to specify the main settings of the correlation rule. On this tab, you can select the type of correlation rule.
  • Selectors—used to define the conditions that the processed events must fulfill to trigger the correlation rule. Available settings vary based on the selected rule kind.
  • Actions—used to set the triggers that will activate when the conditions configured in the Selectors settings block are fulfilled. A correlation rule must have at least one trigger. Available settings vary based on the selected rule type.
  • Correlators—used for linking correlators. Available only for created correlation rules that are open for editing.

General tab

  • Name (required)—a unique name for this type of resource. Must contain 1 to 128 Unicode characters.
  • Tenant (required)—the tenant that owns the correlation rule.
  • Type (required)—a drop-down list for selecting the type of correlation rule. Select simple if you want to create a simple correlation rule.
  • Propagated fields (required)—event fields used for event selection. If the selector (see below) is triggered, these fields will be written to the correlation event.
  • Rate limit—maximum number of times a correlation rule can be triggered per second. The default value is 100.

    If correlation rules employing complex logic for pattern detection are not triggered, this may be due to the specific method used to count rule triggers in KUMA. In this case, try to increase the value of Rate limit to 1000000, for example.

  • Priority—base coefficient used to determine the importance of a correlation rule. The default value is Low.
  • Description—the description of a resource. Up to 4,000 Unicode characters.

Selectors tab

A rule of the simple kind can have only one selector for which the Settings and Local variables tabs are available.

The Settings tab contains settings with the Filter group of settings:

  • Filter (required)—used to set the criteria for determining events that should trigger the selector. You can select an existing filter from the drop-down list or create a new filter.

    Creating a filter in resources

    Filtering based on data from the Extra event field

    The order of conditions specified in the selector filter of the correlation rule is significant and affects system performance. We recommend putting the most unique condition in the first place in the selector filter.

    Consider two examples of selector filters that select successful authentication events in Microsoft Windows.

    Selector filter 1:

    Condition 1. DeviceProduct = Microsoft Windows

    Condition 2. DeviceEventClassID = 4624

    Selector filter 2:

    Condition 1. DeviceEventClassID = 4624

    Condition 2. DeviceProduct = Microsoft Windows

    The order of conditions in Selector filter 2 is preferable because it causes less load on the system.

Select the Local variables tab and click Add variable to declare variables that you want to use within the limits of this correlation rule.

Actions tab

A rule of the simple kind can have only one trigger: On every event. It is activated every time the selector triggers.

Available parameters of the trigger:

  • Output—if this check box is selected, the correlation event is sent for post-processing: for enrichment, for a response, and to destinations.
  • Loop to correlator—if this check box is selected, the created correlation event is processed by the rule chain of the current correlator. This allows hierarchical correlation.

    If the Output and Loop to correlator check boxes are set, the correlation rule is sent to post-processing first, and then to the selectors of the current correlation rule.

  • Do not create alert—if this check box is selected, an alert is not created when this correlation rule is triggered. If you do not want to create an alert when a correlation rule is triggered, but you still want to send a correlation event to the storage, select the Output and No alert check boxes. If you select only the No alert check box, a correlation event is not saved in the storage.
  • Enrichment settings group—you can modify the fields of correlation events by using enrichment rules. These enrichment rules are stored in the correlation rule where they were created. You can create multiple enrichment rules. Enrichment rules can be added or deleted by using the Add enrichment or Remove enrichment buttons, respectively.
    • Source kind—you can select the type of enrichment in this drop-down list. Depending on the selected type, you may see advanced settings that will also need to be completed.

      Available types of enrichment:

      • constant
      • dictionary
      • table
      • event
      • template
    • Debug—you can use this toggle switch to enable logging of service operations.
    • Description—the description of a resource. Up to 4,000 Unicode characters.
    • Filter settings block—lets you select which events will be forwarded for enrichment. Configuration is performed as described above.
  • Categorization settings group—used to change the categories of assets indicated in events. There can be several categorization rules. You can add or delete them by using the Add categorization or Remove categorization buttons. Only reactive categories can be added to assets or removed from assets.
    • Operation—this drop-down list is used to select the operation to perform on the category:
      • Add—assign the category to the asset.
      • Delete—unbind the asset from the category.
    • Event field—event field that indicates the asset requiring the operation.
    • Category ID—the drop-down list displays a tree of categories, in which you can select a category to perform the operation on. Clicking the row expands the list.
  • Active lists update settings group—used to assign the trigger for one or more operations with active lists. You can use the Add active list action and Delete active list action buttons to add or delete operations with active lists, respectively.

    Available settings:

    • Name (required)—this drop-down list is used to select the active list.
    • Operation (required)—this drop-down list is used to select the operation that must be performed:
      • Sum—add a constant, the value of a correlation event field, or the value of a local variable to the value of the active list.
      • Get—get the Active list entry and write the values of the selected fields into the correlation event.
      • Set—write the values of the selected fields of the correlation event into the Active list by creating a new or updating an existing Active list entry. When the Active list entry is updated, the data is merged and only the specified fields are overwritten.
      • Get—get the Active list entry and write the values of the selected fields into the correlation event.
      • Delete—delete the Active list entry.
    • Key fields (required)—this is the list of event fields used to create the Active list entry. It is also used as the Active list entry key.

      The active list entry key depends on the available fields and does not depend on the order in which they are displayed in the KUMA web interface.

    • Mapping (required for Get and Set operations)—used to map Active list fields with events fields. More than one mapping rule can be set.
      • The left field is used to specify the Active list field.

        The field must not contain special characters or numbers only.

      • The middle drop-down list is used to select event fields.
      • The right field can be used to assign a constant to the Active list field is the Set operation was selected.
  • Under Context table update, you can assign the trigger for one or more operations with context tables. You can click Add context table action or Delete context table action to add or delete operations with context tables, respectively.

    Available settings:

    • Name (required)—this drop-down list is used to select context table resources.
    • Operation (required)—this drop-down list is used to select the operation that must be performed.
      • Sum—add a constant, the value of a correlation event field, or the value of a local variable to the value of the context table. This operation is used only for fields of number and float types.
      • Set—write the values of the selected fields of the correlation event into the context table by creating a new or updating an existing context table entry. When the context table entry is updated, the data is merged and only the specified fields are overwritten.
      • Get—get the fields of the context table and write the values of the specified fields into the correlation event. Table fields of the boolean type and lists of boolean values are excluded from mapping because the event does not contain boolean fields.
      • Merge—append the value of a correlation event field, local variable, or constant to the current value of a field of the context table.
      • Delete—delete the context table entry.
    • Key fields (required)—this is the list of event fields used to create the context table entry. It is also used as the key of the context table entry. As a key field, you can specify an event field or a local variable declared on theSelectors tab.

      The composite key of the context table entry depends only on the values of fields and does not depend on the order in which they are displayed in the KUMA web interface.

    • Mapping (required for all operations except Delete)—used to map context table fields to event fields or variables. More than one mapping rule can be set. You can specify the same context table field multiple times.
      • The left field is used to specify the context table field.

        The field must not contain a field name that is already used in the mapping, tab characters, special characters, or only numerals. The maximum number of characters is 128. The name cannot begin with an underscore.

      • The middle drop-down list is used to select event fields or a local variable.
  • The right field can be used to assign a constant to the context table field is the Set operation was selected. Merge or Sum. The maximum number of characters is 1,024.

Correlators tab

  • Add—Used when editing the created correlation rule. You can click Add to open the Correlators window and select a correlator from the list. After you click OK, the rule is linked to the selected correlator. You can select multiple correlators at the same time. The rule is added to the end of the execution queue. If you want to move the rule up in the execution queue, go to Resources - Correlator - <selected correlator> - Edit correlator - Correlation, select the check box next to the relevant rule and use the Move up or Move down buttons to reorder the rules as necessary.
  • Delete—Used to unlink the correlation rule from the correlator.

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