Correlation rules

Correlation rule resources are used in services of correlators to recognize specific sequences of processed events and to take certain actions after recognition, such as creating correlation events/alerts or interacting with an active list.

The available correlation rule settings depend on the selected type. Types of correlation rules:

• standard—used to find correlations between several events. Resources of this kind can create correlation events.

  This resource kind is used to determine complex correlation patterns. For simpler patterns you should use other correlation rule kinds that require less resources to operate.

• simple—used to create correlation events if a certain event was found.
• operational—used for operations with Active lists. This resource kind cannot create correlation events.

For these resources, you can enable the display of control characters in all input fields except the Description field.

If a correlation rule is used in the correlator and an alert was created based on it, any change to the correlation rule resource will not result in a change to the existing alert even if the correlator service is restarted. For example, if the name of a correlation rule is changed, the name of the alert will remain the same. If you close the existing alert, a new alert will be created and it will take into account the changes made to the correlation rule resource.

Standard correlation rules

Standard correlation rules are used to identify complex patterns in processed events.

The search for patterns is conducted by using buckets

The correlation rule resource window contains the following configuration tabs:

• General—used to specify the main settings of the correlation rule resource. 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 parameters vary based on the selected resource type.
• Actions—used to set the triggers that will activate when the conditions configured in the Selectors settings block are fulfilled. The Correlation rule resource must have at least one trigger. Available parameters vary based on the selected resource type.

General tab

• Name (required)—a unique name for this type of resource. Must contain from 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 standard if you want to create a standard correlation rule.
• Identical fields (required)—the event fields that should be grouped in a Bucket. The hash of the values of the selected fields is used as the Bucket key. If the selector (see below) triggers, the selected fields will be copied to the correlation event.
• Unique fields—event fields that should be sent to the Bucket. If this parameter is set, the Bucket will receive only unique events. The hash of the selected fields' values is used as the Bucket key. If the Correlation rule triggers, the selected fields will be copied 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.

• Window, sec (required)—bucket lifetime, in seconds. This timer starts when the Bucket is created (when it receives the first event). The lifetime is not updated, and when it runs out, the On timeout trigger from the Actions group of settings is activated and the bucket is deleted. The On every threshold and On subsequent thresholds triggers can be activated more than once during the lifetime of the bucket.
• Base events keep policy—this drop-down list is used to specify which base events must be stored in the correlation event:
  • first (default value)—this option is used to store the first base event of the event collection that triggered creation of the correlation event.
  • last—this option is used to store the last base event of the event collection that triggered creation of the correlation event.
  • all—this option is used to store all base events of the event collection that triggered creation of the correlation event.
• Priority—base coefficient used to determine the importance of a correlation rule. The default value is Low.
• Order by—in this drop-down list, you can select the event field that will be used by the correlation rule selectors to track situational changes. This could be useful if you want to configure a correlation rule to be triggered when several types of events occur sequentially, for example.
• Description—the description of a resource. Up to 256 Unicode characters.

Selectors tab

There can be multiple selectors in the standard resource kind. You can add selectors by clicking the Add selector button and can remove them by clicking the Delete selector button. Selectors can be moved by using the button.

For each selector, the following two tabs are available: Settings and Local variables.

The Settings tab contains the following settings:

• Alias (required)—unique name of the event group that meets the conditions of the selector. This name is used to identify events in the filter. Must contain from 1 to 128 Unicode characters.
• Selector threshold (event count) (required)—the number of events that must be received by the selector to trigger.
• Filter (required)—used to set the criteria for determining events that should trigger the selector. You can select an existing filter resource from the drop-down list, or select Create new to create a new filter.

  Creating a filter in resources

  1. In the Filter drop-down list, select Create new.
  2. If you want to keep the filter as a separate resource, select the Save filter check box.

     In this case, you will be able to use the created filter in various services.

     This check box is cleared by default.

  3. If you selected the Save filter check box, enter a name for the created filter resource in the Name field. The name must contain from 1 to 128 Unicode characters.
  4. In the Conditions settings block, specify the conditions that the events must meet:
     1. Click the Add condition button.
     2. In the Left operand and Right operand drop-down lists, specify the search parameters.

        Depending on the data source selected in the Right operand field, you may see fields of additional parameters that you need to use to define the value that will be passed to the filter. For example, when choosing active list you will need to specify the name of the active list, the entry key, and the entry key field.

     3. In the operator drop-down list, select the relevant operator.

        Filter operators

        • =—the left operand equals the right operand.
        • <—the left operand is less than the right operand.
        • <=—the left operand is less than or equal to the right operand.
        • >—the left operand is greater than the right operand.
        • >=—the left operand is greater than or equal to the right operand.
        • inSubnet—the left operand (IP address) is in the subnet of the right operand (subnet).
        • contains—the left operand contains values of the right operand.
        • startsWith—the left operand starts with one of the values of the right operand.
        • endsWith—the left operand ends with one of the values of the right operand.
        • match—the left operand matches the regular expression of the right operand. The RE2 regular expressions are used.
        • hasBit—checks whether the left operand (string or number) contains bits whose positions are listed in the right operand (in a constant or in a list).
        • hasVulnerability—checks whether the left operand contains an asset with the vulnerability and vulnerability severity specified in the right operand.
        • inActiveList—this operator has only one operand. Its values are selected in the Key fields field and are compared with the entries in the active list selected from the Active List drop-down list.
        • inDictionary—checks whether the specified dictionary contains an entry defined by the key composed with the concatenated values of the selected event fields.
        • inCategory—the asset in the left operand is assigned at least one of the asset categories of the right operand.
        • inActiveDirectoryGroup—the Active Directory account in the left operand belongs to one of the Active Directory groups in the right operand.
        • TIDetect—this operator is used to find events using CyberTrace Threat Intelligence (TI) data. This operator can be used only on events that have completed enrichment with data from CyberTrace Threat Intelligence. In other words, it can only be used in collectors at the destination selection stage and in correlators.
     4. If necessary, select the do not match case check box. When this check box is selected, the operator ignores the case of the values.

        The selection of this check box does not apply to the InSubnet, InActiveList, InCategory or InActiveDirectoryGroup operators.

        This check box is cleared by default.

     5. If you want to add a negative condition, select If not from the If drop-down list.
     6. You can add multiple conditions or a group of conditions.
  5. If you have added multiple conditions or groups of conditions, choose a search condition (and, or, not) by clicking the AND button.
  6. If you want to add existing filters that are selected from the Select filter drop-down list, click the Add filter button.

     You can view the nested filter settings by clicking the button.

  Filtering based on data from the Extra event field

  Conditions for filters based on data from the Extra event field:

  • Condition—If.
  • Left operand—event field.
  • In this event field, you can specify one of the following values:
    • Extra field.
    • Value from the Extra field in the following format:

      Extra.<field name>

      For example, Extra.app.

      A value of this type is specified manually.

    • Value from the array written to the Extra field in the following format:

      Extra.<field name>.<array element>

      For example, Extra.array.0.

      The values in the array are numbered starting from 0.

      A value of this type is specified manually.

  • Operator – =.
  • Right operand—constant.
  • Value—the value by which you need to filter events.
• Recovery—this check box must be selected when the Correlation rule must NOT trigger if a certain number of events are received from the selector. By default, this check box is cleared.

On the Local variables tab, use the Add variable button to declare variables that will be used within the limits of this correlation rule.

Actions tab

There can be multiple triggers in a standard type of resource.

• On first threshold—this trigger activates when the Bucket registers the first triggering of the selector during the lifetime of the Bucket.
• On subsequent thresholds—this trigger activates when the Bucket registers the second and all subsequent triggering of the selector during the lifetime of the Bucket.
• On every threshold—this trigger activates every time the Bucket registers the triggering of the selector.
• On timeout—this trigger activates when the lifetime of the Bucket ends, and is linked to the selector with the Recovery check box selected. In other words, this trigger activates if the situation detected by the correlation rule is not resolved within the defined amount of time.

Every trigger is represented as a group of settings with the following parameters available:

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

  If both check boxes are selected, the correlation rule will be sent for post-processing first and then to the current correlation rule selectors.

• Do not create alert—if this check box is selected, an alert will not be created when this correlation rule is triggered.
• 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 resources.
  • Operation (required)—this drop-down list is used to select the operation that must be performed:
    • 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.
    • 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.
• Enrichment settings block—you can update the field values of correlation events by using enrichment rules similar to enrichment rule resources. These enrichment rules are stored in the Correlation rule resource where they were created. It is possible to have more than one enrichment rule. 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

      This type of enrichment is used when a constant needs to be added to an event field. Settings of this type of enrichment:

      • In the Constant field, specify the value that should be added to the event field. The value should not be longer than 255 Unicode characters. If you leave this field blank, the existing event field value will be cleared.
      • In the Target field drop-down list, select the KUMA event field to which you want to write the data.

    • dictionary

      This type of enrichment is used if you need to add a value from the dictionary to the event field.

      When this type is selected in the Dictionary name drop-down list, you must select the dictionary that will provide the values. In the Key fields settings block, you must use the Add field button to select the event fields whose values will be used for dictionary entry selection.

    • event

      This type of enrichment is used when you need to write a value from another event field to the current event field. Settings of this type of enrichment:

      • In the Target field drop-down list, select the KUMA event field to which you want to write the data.
      • In the Source field drop-down list, select the event field whose value will be written to the target field.
      • Clicking the button opens the Conversion window in which you can, using the Add conversion button, create rules for modifying the original data before writing them to the KUMA event fields.

        Available conversions

        Conversions are changes that can be applied to a value before it gets written to the event field. The conversion type is selected from a drop-down list.

        Available conversions:

        • lower—is used to make all characters of the value lowercase
        • upper—is used to make all characters of the value uppercase
        • regexp – used to convert a value using the regular expression RE2. When this conversion type is selected, the field appears where regular expression should be added.
        • substring—is used to extract characters in the position range specified in the Start and End fields. These fields appear when this conversion type is selected.
        • replace—is used to replace specified character sequence with the other character sequence. When this type of conversion is selected, new fields appear:
          • Replace chars—in this field you can specify the character sequence that should be replaced.
          • With chars—in this field you can specify the characters sequence should be used instead of replaced characters.
        • trim—used to simultaneously remove the characters specified in the Chars field from the leading and end positions of the value. The field appears when this type of conversion is selected. For example, a trim conversion with the Micromon value applied to Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon results in soft-Windows-Sys.
        • append is used to add the characters specified in the Constant field to the end of the event field value. The field appears when this type of conversion is selected.
        • prepend—used to prepend the characters specified in the Constant field to the start of the event field value. The field appears when this type of conversion is selected.
        • replace with regexp—is used to replace RE2 regular expression results with the character sequence.
          • Expression—in this field you can specify the regular expression which results that should be replaced.
          • With chars—in this field you can specify the characters sequence should be used instead of replaced characters.
    • template

      This type of enrichment is used when you need to write a value obtained by processing Go templates into the event field. Settings of this type of enrichment:

      • Put the Go template into the Template field.

        Event field names are passed in the {{.EventField}} format, where EventField is the name of the event field from which the value must be passed to the script.

        Example: Attack on {{.DestinationAddress}} from {{.SourceAddress}}.

      • In the Target field drop-down list, select the KUMA event field to which you want to write the data.
  • Debug—you can use this drop-down list to enable logging of service operations.
  • Description—the description of a resource. Up to 256 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—you can click the button to select the category requiring the operation. Clicking this button opens the Select categories window showing the category tree.

Simple correlation rules

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

The correlation rule resource window contains the following configuration tabs:

• General—used to specify the main settings of the correlation rule resource. 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 parameters vary based on the selected resource type.
• Actions—used to set the triggers that will activate when the conditions configured in the Selectors settings block are fulfilled. The Correlation rule resource must have at least one trigger. Available parameters vary based on the selected resource type.

General tab

• Name (required)—a unique name for this type of resource. Must contain from 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 256 Unicode characters.

Selectors tab

In a simple-type resource, there can be only one selector for which the Settings and Local variables tabs are available.

The Settings tab contains settings with the Filter settings block:

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

  Creating a filter in resources

  1. In the Filter drop-down list, select Create new.
  2. If you want to keep the filter as a separate resource, select the Save filter check box.

     In this case, you will be able to use the created filter in various services.

     This check box is cleared by default.

  3. If you selected the Save filter check box, enter a name for the created filter resource in the Name field. The name must contain from 1 to 128 Unicode characters.
  4. In the Conditions settings block, specify the conditions that the events must meet:
     1. Click the Add condition button.
     2. In the Left operand and Right operand drop-down lists, specify the search parameters.

        Depending on the data source selected in the Right operand field, you may see fields of additional parameters that you need to use to define the value that will be passed to the filter. For example, when choosing active list you will need to specify the name of the active list, the entry key, and the entry key field.

     3. In the operator drop-down list, select the relevant operator.

        Filter operators

        • =—the left operand equals the right operand.
        • <—the left operand is less than the right operand.
        • <=—the left operand is less than or equal to the right operand.
        • >—the left operand is greater than the right operand.
        • >=—the left operand is greater than or equal to the right operand.
        • inSubnet—the left operand (IP address) is in the subnet of the right operand (subnet).
        • contains—the left operand contains values of the right operand.
        • startsWith—the left operand starts with one of the values of the right operand.
        • endsWith—the left operand ends with one of the values of the right operand.
        • match—the left operand matches the regular expression of the right operand. The RE2 regular expressions are used.
        • hasBit—checks whether the left operand (string or number) contains bits whose positions are listed in the right operand (in a constant or in a list).
        • hasVulnerability—checks whether the left operand contains an asset with the vulnerability and vulnerability severity specified in the right operand.
        • inActiveList—this operator has only one operand. Its values are selected in the Key fields field and are compared with the entries in the active list selected from the Active List drop-down list.
        • inDictionary—checks whether the specified dictionary contains an entry defined by the key composed with the concatenated values of the selected event fields.
        • inCategory—the asset in the left operand is assigned at least one of the asset categories of the right operand.
        • inActiveDirectoryGroup—the Active Directory account in the left operand belongs to one of the Active Directory groups in the right operand.
        • TIDetect—this operator is used to find events using CyberTrace Threat Intelligence (TI) data. This operator can be used only on events that have completed enrichment with data from CyberTrace Threat Intelligence. In other words, it can only be used in collectors at the destination selection stage and in correlators.
     4. If necessary, select the do not match case check box. When this check box is selected, the operator ignores the case of the values.

        The selection of this check box does not apply to the InSubnet, InActiveList, InCategory or InActiveDirectoryGroup operators.

        This check box is cleared by default.

     5. If you want to add a negative condition, select If not from the If drop-down list.
     6. You can add multiple conditions or a group of conditions.
  5. If you have added multiple conditions or groups of conditions, choose a search condition (and, or, not) by clicking the AND button.
  6. If you want to add existing filters that are selected from the Select filter drop-down list, click the Add filter button.

     You can view the nested filter settings by clicking the button.

  Filtering based on data from the Extra event field

  Conditions for filters based on data from the Extra event field:

  • Condition—If.
  • Left operand—event field.
  • In this event field, you can specify one of the following values:
    • Extra field.
    • Value from the Extra field in the following format:

      Extra.<field name>

      For example, Extra.app.

      A value of this type is specified manually.

    • Value from the array written to the Extra field in the following format:

      Extra.<field name>.<array element>

      For example, Extra.array.0.

      The values in the array are numbered starting from 0.

      A value of this type is specified manually.

  • Operator – =.
  • Right operand—constant.
  • Value—the value by which you need to filter events.

On the Local variables tab, use the Add variable button to declare variables that will be used within the limits of this correlation rule.

Actions tab

There can be only one trigger in the simple resource kind: 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 will be sent for post-processing: for enrichment, for a response, and to destinations.
• Loop—if this check box is selected, the correlation event will be processed by the current correlation rule resource. This allows hierarchical correlation.

  If both check boxes are selected, the correlation rule will be sent for post-processing first and then to the current correlation rule selectors.

• Do not create alert—if this check box is selected, an alert will not be created when this correlation rule is triggered.
• 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 resources.
  • Operation (required)—this drop-down list is used to select the operation that must be performed:
    • 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.
    • 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.
• Enrichment settings block—you can update the field values of correlation events by using enrichment rules similar to enrichment rule resources. These enrichment rules are stored in the Correlation rule resource where they were created. It is possible to have more than one enrichment rule. 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

      This type of enrichment is used when a constant needs to be added to an event field. Settings of this type of enrichment:

      • In the Constant field, specify the value that should be added to the event field. The value should not be longer than 255 Unicode characters. If you leave this field blank, the existing event field value will be cleared.
      • In the Target field drop-down list, select the KUMA event field to which you want to write the data.

    • dictionary

      This type of enrichment is used if you need to add a value from the dictionary to the event field.

      When this type is selected in the Dictionary name drop-down list, you must select the dictionary that will provide the values. In the Key fields settings block, you must use the Add field button to select the event fields whose values will be used for dictionary entry selection.

    • event

      This type of enrichment is used when you need to write a value from another event field to the current event field. Settings of this type of enrichment:

      • In the Target field drop-down list, select the KUMA event field to which you want to write the data.
      • In the Source field drop-down list, select the event field whose value will be written to the target field.
      • Clicking the button opens the Conversion window in which you can, using the Add conversion button, create rules for modifying the original data before writing them to the KUMA event fields.

        Available conversions

        Conversions are changes that can be applied to a value before it gets written to the event field. The conversion type is selected from a drop-down list.

        Available conversions:

        • lower—is used to make all characters of the value lowercase
        • upper—is used to make all characters of the value uppercase
        • regexp – used to convert a value using the regular expression RE2. When this conversion type is selected, the field appears where regular expression should be added.
        • substring—is used to extract characters in the position range specified in the Start and End fields. These fields appear when this conversion type is selected.
        • replace—is used to replace specified character sequence with the other character sequence. When this type of conversion is selected, new fields appear:
          • Replace chars—in this field you can specify the character sequence that should be replaced.
          • With chars—in this field you can specify the characters sequence should be used instead of replaced characters.
        • trim—used to simultaneously remove the characters specified in the Chars field from the leading and end positions of the value. The field appears when this type of conversion is selected. For example, a trim conversion with the Micromon value applied to Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon results in soft-Windows-Sys.
        • append is used to add the characters specified in the Constant field to the end of the event field value. The field appears when this type of conversion is selected.
        • prepend—used to prepend the characters specified in the Constant field to the start of the event field value. The field appears when this type of conversion is selected.
        • replace with regexp—is used to replace RE2 regular expression results with the character sequence.
          • Expression—in this field you can specify the regular expression which results that should be replaced.
          • With chars—in this field you can specify the characters sequence should be used instead of replaced characters.
    • template

      This type of enrichment is used when you need to write a value obtained by processing Go templates into the event field. Settings of this type of enrichment:

      • Put the Go template into the Template field.

        Event field names are passed in the {{.EventField}} format, where EventField is the name of the event field from which the value must be passed to the script.

        Example: Attack on {{.DestinationAddress}} from {{.SourceAddress}}.

      • In the Target field drop-down list, select the KUMA event field to which you want to write the data.
  • Debug—you can use this drop-down list to enable logging of service operations.
  • Description—the description of a resource. Up to 256 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—you can click the button to select the category requiring the operation. Clicking this button opens the Select categories window showing the category tree.

Operational correlation rules

Operational correlation rules are used for working with active lists.

The correlation rule resource window contains the following tabs:

• General—used to specify the main settings of the correlation rule resource. 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 parameters vary based on the selected resource type.
• Actions—used to set the triggers that will activate when the conditions configured in the Selectors settings block are fulfilled. The Correlation rule resource must have at least one trigger. Available parameters vary based on the selected resource type.

General tab

• Name (required)—a unique name for this type of resource. Must contain from 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 operational if you want to create an operational correlation rule.
• 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.

• Description—the description of a resource. Up to 256 Unicode characters.

Selectors tab

In an operational-type resource, there can be only one selector for which the Settings and Local variables tabs are available.

The Settings tab contains settings with the Filter settings block:

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

  Creating a filter in resources

  1. In the Filter drop-down list, select Create new.
  2. If you want to keep the filter as a separate resource, select the Save filter check box.

     In this case, you will be able to use the created filter in various services.

     This check box is cleared by default.

  3. If you selected the Save filter check box, enter a name for the created filter resource in the Name field. The name must contain from 1 to 128 Unicode characters.
  4. In the Conditions settings block, specify the conditions that the events must meet:
     1. Click the Add condition button.
     2. In the Left operand and Right operand drop-down lists, specify the search parameters.

        Depending on the data source selected in the Right operand field, you may see fields of additional parameters that you need to use to define the value that will be passed to the filter. For example, when choosing active list you will need to specify the name of the active list, the entry key, and the entry key field.

     3. In the operator drop-down list, select the relevant operator.

        Filter operators

        • =—the left operand equals the right operand.
        • <—the left operand is less than the right operand.
        • <=—the left operand is less than or equal to the right operand.
        • >—the left operand is greater than the right operand.
        • >=—the left operand is greater than or equal to the right operand.
        • inSubnet—the left operand (IP address) is in the subnet of the right operand (subnet).
        • contains—the left operand contains values of the right operand.
        • startsWith—the left operand starts with one of the values of the right operand.
        • endsWith—the left operand ends with one of the values of the right operand.
        • match—the left operand matches the regular expression of the right operand. The RE2 regular expressions are used.
        • hasBit—checks whether the left operand (string or number) contains bits whose positions are listed in the right operand (in a constant or in a list).
        • hasVulnerability—checks whether the left operand contains an asset with the vulnerability and vulnerability severity specified in the right operand.
        • inActiveList—this operator has only one operand. Its values are selected in the Key fields field and are compared with the entries in the active list selected from the Active List drop-down list.
        • inDictionary—checks whether the specified dictionary contains an entry defined by the key composed with the concatenated values of the selected event fields.
        • inCategory—the asset in the left operand is assigned at least one of the asset categories of the right operand.
        • inActiveDirectoryGroup—the Active Directory account in the left operand belongs to one of the Active Directory groups in the right operand.
        • TIDetect—this operator is used to find events using CyberTrace Threat Intelligence (TI) data. This operator can be used only on events that have completed enrichment with data from CyberTrace Threat Intelligence. In other words, it can only be used in collectors at the destination selection stage and in correlators.
     4. If necessary, select the do not match case check box. When this check box is selected, the operator ignores the case of the values.

        The selection of this check box does not apply to the InSubnet, InActiveList, InCategory or InActiveDirectoryGroup operators.

        This check box is cleared by default.

     5. If you want to add a negative condition, select If not from the If drop-down list.
     6. You can add multiple conditions or a group of conditions.
  5. If you have added multiple conditions or groups of conditions, choose a search condition (and, or, not) by clicking the AND button.
  6. If you want to add existing filters that are selected from the Select filter drop-down list, click the Add filter button.

     You can view the nested filter settings by clicking the button.

  Filtering based on data from the Extra event field

  Conditions for filters based on data from the Extra event field:

  • Condition—If.
  • Left operand—event field.
  • In this event field, you can specify one of the following values:
    • Extra field.
    • Value from the Extra field in the following format:

      Extra.<field name>

      For example, Extra.app.

      A value of this type is specified manually.

    • Value from the array written to the Extra field in the following format:

      Extra.<field name>.<array element>

      For example, Extra.array.0.

      The values in the array are numbered starting from 0.

      A value of this type is specified manually.

  • Operator – =.
  • Right operand—constant.
  • Value—the value by which you need to filter events.

On the Local variables tab, use the Add variable button to declare variables that will be used within the limits of this correlation rule.

Actions tab

There can be only one trigger in the operational resource kind: On every event. It is activated every time the selector triggers.

Available parameters of the trigger:

• 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 resources.
  • Operation (required)—this drop-down list is used to select the operation that must be performed:
    • 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.
    • 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.

Variables in correlators

If tracking values in event fields, active lists, or dictionaries is not enough to cover some specific security scenarios, you can use global and local variables. You can use them to take various actions on the values received by the correlators by implementing complex logic for threat detection. Variables can be declared in the correlator (global variables) or in the correlation rule (local variables) by assigning a function to them, then querying them from correlation rules as if they were ordinary event fields and receiving the triggered function result in response.

Usage scope of variables:

• When searching for grouping or unique field values in correlation rules.
• In the correlation rule selectors, in the filters of the conditions under which the correlation rule should be triggered.
• When enriching correlation events. Select Event as the source type.
• When filling active lists with values.

Variables can be queried the same way as event fields by preceding their names with the $ character.

Properties of variables

Local and global variables

The properties of global variables differ from the properties of local variables.

Global variables:

• Global variables are declared at the correlator level and are applied only within the scope of this correlator.
• The global variables of the correlator can be queried from all correlation rules that are specified in it.
• In standard correlation rules, the same global variable can take different values in each selector.
• It is not possible to transfer global variables between different correlators.

Local variables:

• Local variables are declared at the correlation rule level and are applied only within the limits of this rule.
• In standard correlation rules, the scope of a local variable consists of only the selector in which the variable was declared.
• Local variables can be declared in any type of correlation rule.
• Local variables cannot be transferred between rules or selectors.
• A local variable cannot be used as a global variable.

Variables used in various types of correlation rules

• In operational correlation rules, on the Actions tab, you can specify all variables available or declared in this rule.
• In standard correlation rules, on the Actions tab, you can provide only those variables specified in these rules on the General tab, in the Identical fields field.
• In simple correlation rules, on the Actions tab, you can provide only those variables specified in these rules on the General tab, in the Inherited Fields field.

Requirements for variables

When adding a variable function, you must first specify the name of the function, and then list its parameters in parentheses. Basic mathematical operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) are an exception to this requirement. When these operations are used, parentheses are used to designate the severity of the operations.

Requirements for function names:

• Must be unique within the correlator.
• Must contain from 1 to 128 Unicode characters.
• Must not begin with the character $.
• Must be written in camelCase or CamelCase.

Special considerations when specifying functions of variables:

• The sequence of parameters is important.
• Parameters are separated by a comma: ,.
• String parameters are passed in single quotes: '.
• Event field names and variables are specified without quotation marks.
• When querying a variable as a parameter, add the $ character before its name.
• You do not need to add a space between parameters.
• In all functions in which a variable can be used as parameters, nested functions can be created.

Functions of variables

Operations with active lists and dictionaries

"active_list" function

Gets information from the active list regarding the value in the specified column.

You must specify the parameters in the following sequence:

1. Name of the active list
2. Name of the active list column
3. Active list record key

   The name of one or more event fields is used as the record key of the active list.

   Usage example	Result
   active_list('exampleActiveList', 'score', SourceAddress,SourceUserName)	Gets data from exampleActiveList from the SourceAddress,SourceUserName record in the score column.

"table_dict" function

Gets information about the value in the specified column of a dictionary of the table type.

You must specify the parameters in the following sequence:

1. Dictionary name
2. Dictionary column name
3. Dictionary row key

   Usage example	Result
   table_dict('exampleTableDict', 'office', SourceUserName)	Gets data from the exampleTableDict dictionary from the row with the SourceUserName key in the office column.

"dict" function

Gets information about the value in the specified column of a dictionary of the dictionary type.

You must specify the parameters in the following sequence:

1. Dictionary name
2. Dictionary row key

   Usage example	Result
   dict('exampleDictionary', SourceAddress)	Gets data from exampleDictionary from the row with the SourceAddress key.

Operation with rows

"len" function

Returns the number of characters in a string.

A string can be passed as a string, field name or variable.

"to_lower" function

Converts characters in a string to lowercase.

A string can be passed as a string, field name or variable.

"to_upper" function

Converts characters in a string to uppercase. A string can be passed as a string, field name or variable.

"append" function

Adds characters to the end of a string.

You must specify the parameters in the following sequence:

1. Original string.
2. Added string.

Strings can be passed as a string, field name or variable.

"prepend" function

Adds characters to the beginning of a string.

You must specify the parameters in the following sequence:

1. Original string.
2. Added string.

Strings can be passed as a string, field name or variable.

"substring" function

Returns a substring from a string. 

You must specify the parameters in the following sequence:

1. Original string.
2. Substring start position (natural number or 0).
3. (Optional) substring end position.

Strings can be passed as a string, field name or variable. If the position number is greater than the original data string length, an empty string is returned.

"tr" function

Deletes the specified characters from the beginning and end of a string.

You must specify the parameters in the following sequence:

1. Original string.
2. (Optional) string that should be removed from the beginning and end of the original string.

Strings can be passed as a string, field name or variable. If you do not specify a string to be deleted, spaces will be removed from the beginning and end of the original string.

"replace" function

Replaces all occurrences of character sequence A in a string with character sequence B.

You must specify the parameters in the following sequence:

1. Original string.
2. Search string: sequence of characters to be replaced.
3. replacement string: sequence of characters to replace the search string.

Strings can be passed as a string, field name or variable.

"regexp_replace" function

Replaces a sequence of characters that match a regular expression with a sequence of characters and regular expression capturing groups.

You must specify the parameters in the following sequence:

1. Original string.
2. Search string: regular expression.
3. replacement string: sequence of characters to replace the search string, and IDs of the regular expression capturing groups.

Strings can be passed as a string, field name or variable. Unnamed capturing groups can be used.

"regexp_capture" function

Gets the result matching the regular expression condition from the original string.

You must specify the parameters in the following sequence:

1. Original string.
2. Search string: regular expression.

Strings can be passed as a string, field name or variable. Unnamed capturing groups can be used.

Operations with timestamps

now function

Gets a timestamp in epoch format. Runs with no arguments.

"extract_from_timestamp" function

Gets atomic time representations (year, month, day, hour, minute, second, day of the week) from fields and variables with time in the epoch format.

The parameters must be specified in the following sequence:

1. Event field of the timestamp type, or variable.
2. Notation of the atomic time representation. This parameter is case sensitive.

   Possible variants of atomic time notation:

   • y refers to the year in number format.
   • M refers to the month in number notation.
   • d refers to the number of the month.
   • wd refers to the day of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
   • h refers to the hour in 24-hour format.
   • m refers to the minutes.
   • s refers to the seconds.
3. (optional) Time zone notation. If this parameter is not specified, the time is calculated in UTC format.

   Usage examples

   extract_from_timestamp(Timestamp, 'wd')

   extract_from_timestamp(Timestamp, 'h')

   extract_from_timestamp($otherVariable, 'h')

   extract_from_timestamp(Timestamp, 'h', 'Europe/Moscow')

"parse_timestamp" function

Converts the time from RFC3339 format (for example, "2022-05-24 00:00:00", "2022-05-24 00:00:00+0300) to epoch format.

"format_timestamp" function

Converts the time from epoch format to RFC3339 format.

The parameters must be specified in the following sequence:

1. Event field of the timestamp type, or variable.
2. Time format notation: RFC3339.
3. (optional) Time zone notation. If this parameter is not specified, the time is calculated in UTC format.

   Usage examples

   format_timestamp(Timestamp, 'RFC3339')

   format_timestamp($otherVariable, 'RFC3339')

   format_timestamp(Timestamp, 'RFC3339', 'Europe/Moscow')

"truncate_timestamp" function

Rounds the time in epoch format. After rounding, the time is returned in epoch format. Time is rounded down.

The parameters must be specified in the following sequence:

1. Event field of the timestamp type, or variable.
2. Rounding parameter:
   • 1s rounds to the nearest second.
   • 1m rounds to the nearest minute.
   • 1h rounds to the nearest hour.
   • 24h rounds to the nearest day.
3. (optional) Time zone notation. If this parameter is not specified, the time is calculated in UTC format.

   Usage examples	Examples of rounded values	Usage result
   truncate_timestamp(Timestamp, '1m')	1654631774175 (7 June 2022, 19:56:14.175)	1654631760000 (7 June 2022, 19:56:00)
   truncate_timestamp($otherVariable, '1h')	1654631774175 (7 June 2022, 19:56:14.175)	1654628400000 (7 June 2022, 19:00:00)
   truncate_timestamp(Timestamp, '24h', 'Europe/Moscow')	1654631774175 (7 June 2022, 19:56:14.175)	1654560000000 (7 June 2022, 0:00:00)

"time_diff" function

Gets the time interval between two timestamps in epoch format.

The parameters must be specified in the following sequence:

1. Interval end time. Event field of the timestamp type, or variable.
2. Interval start time. Event field of the timestamp type, or variable.
3. Time interval notation:
   • ms refers to milliseconds.
   • s refers to seconds.
   • m refers to minutes.
   • h refers to hours.
   • d refers to days.

   Usage examples

   time_diff(EndTime, StartTime, 's')

   time_diff($otherVariable, Timestamp, 'h')

   time_diff(Timestamp, DeviceReceiptTime, 'd')

Mathematical operations

These are comprised of basic mathematical operations and functions.

Basic mathematical operations

Operations:

• Addition
• Subtraction
• Multiplication
• Division
• Modulo division

Parentheses determine the sequence of actions

Available arguments:

• Numeric event fields
• Numeric variables
• Real numbers

  When modulo dividing, only natural numbers can be used as arguments.

Usage constraints:

• Division by zero returns zero.
• Mathematical operations between numbers and strings return zero.
• Integers resulting from operations are returned without a dot.

  Usage examples (Type=3; otherVariable=2; Message=text)	Usage result
  Type + 1	4
  $otherVariable - Type	-1
  2 * 2.5	5
  2 / 0	0
  Type * Message	0
  (Type + 2) * 2	10
  Type % $otherVariable	1

"round" function

Rounds numbers. 

Available arguments:

• Numeric event fields
• Numeric variables
• Numeric constants

  Usage examples (DeviceCustomFloatingPoint1=7.75; DeviceCustomFloatingPoint2=7.5 otherVariable=7.2)	Usage result
  round(DeviceCustomFloatingPoint1)	8
  round(DeviceCustomFloatingPoint2)	8
  round($otherVariable)	7

"ceil" function

Rounds up numbers.

Available arguments:

• Numeric event fields
• Numeric variables
• Numeric constants

  Usage examples (DeviceCustomFloatingPoint1=7.15; otherVariable=8.2)	Usage result
  ceil(DeviceCustomFloatingPoint1)	8
  ceil($otherVariable)	9

"floor" function

Rounds down numbers.

Available arguments:

• Numeric event fields
• Numeric variables
• Numeric constants

  Usage examples (DeviceCustomFloatingPoint1=7.15; otherVariable=8.2)	Usage result
  floor(DeviceCustomFloatingPoint1)	7
  floor($otherVariable)	8

"abs" function

Gets the modulus of a number.

Available arguments:

• Numeric event fields
• Numeric variables
• Numeric constants

  Usage examples (DeviceCustomNumber1=-7; otherVariable=-2)	Usage result
  abs(DeviceCustomFloatingPoint1)	7
  abs($otherVariable)	2

"pow" function

Exponentiates a number.

The parameters must be specified in the following sequence:

1. Base. Real numbers
2. Power. Natural numbers.

Available arguments:

• Numeric event fields
• Numeric variables
• Numeric constants

  Usage examples

  pow(DeviceCustomNumber1, DeviceCustomNumber2)

  pow($otherVariable, DeviceCustomNumber1)

Declaring variables

To declare variables, they must be added to a correlator or correlation rule.

To add a global variable to an existing correlator:

1. In the KUMA web interface, under Resources → Correlators, select the resource set of the relevant correlator.

   The Correlator Installation Wizard opens.

2. Select the Global variables step of the Installation Wizard.
3. click the Add variable button and specify the following parameters:
   • In the Variable window, enter the name of the variable.

     Variable naming requirements

     • Must be unique within the correlator.
     • Must contain from 1 to 128 Unicode characters.
     • Must not begin with the character $.
     • Must be written in camelCase or CamelCase.
   • In the Value window, enter the variable function.

     Description of variable functions.

   Multiple variables can be added. Added variables can be edited or deleted by using the icon.

4. Select the Setup validation step of the Installation Wizard and click Save.

A global variable is added to the correlator. It can be queried like an event field by inserting the $ character in front of the variable name. The variable will be used for correlation after restarting the correlator service.

To add a local variable to an existing correlation rule:

1. In the KUMA web interface, under Resources → Correlation rules, select the resource of the relevant correlation rule.

   The correlation rule settings window opens. The parameters of a correlation rule can also be opened from the correlator to which it was added by proceeding to the Correlation step of the Installation Wizard.

2. Open the Selectors tab.
3. In the selector, open the Local variables tab, click the Add variable button and specify the following parameters:
   • In the Variable window, enter the name of the variable.

     Variable naming requirements

     • Must be unique within the correlator.
     • Must contain from 1 to 128 Unicode characters.
     • Must not begin with the character $.
     • Must be written in camelCase or CamelCase.
   • In the Value window, enter the variable function.

     Description of variable functions.

   Multiple variables can be added. Added variables can be edited or deleted by using the icon.

   For standard correlation rules, repeat this step for each selector in which you want to declare variables.

4. Click Save.

The local variable is added to the correlation rule. It can be queried like an event field by inserting the $ character in front of the variable name. The variable will be used for correlation after restarting the correlator service.

Added variables can be edited or deleted. If the correlation rule queries an undeclared variable (for example, if its name has been changed), an empty string is returned.

If you change the name of a variable, you will need to manually change the name of this variable in all correlation rules where you have used it.