# T1222 - File and Directory Permissions Modification

## SOC Recommendation
Investigate File and Directory Permissions Modification activity in the context of Defense Impairment: confirm scope, affected host/identity, and whether it matches expected administrative behaviour before deciding this is benign.

## D3FEND Mappings
| D3FEND Technique | Relationship | Practical SOC Action |
|---|---|---|
| Restore Configuration | Restore | Use Restore Configuration to recover affected systems or data after containment. |
| Configuration Inventory | Model | Use Configuration Inventory to establish a baseline that makes this technique's deviations easier to spot. |

## Investigation Steps
1. Review Defender for Endpoint / Defender XDR alerts and timeline for the affected host or identity.
2. Check Sentinel analytics rules and incidents correlated with this technique.
3. Review Entra ID sign-in and audit logs if the technique involves an identity or cloud resource.

## Evidence to Collect
- Host or resource affected
- Account or identity involved
- Timestamp of the activity
- Related process, file, or network artifact
- Any preceding or follow-on alerts

## Response Actions
| Action | Risk | Automation Safe | Approval Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contain the affected host or account | Medium | No | Yes |
| Collect and preserve evidence | Low | Yes | No |

## KQL
```kql
let accessPolicyTypes = dynamic(["Access Policy", "Artifact Reference"]);
let monitoredActions = dynamic(["Create", "Change", "Delete"]);
SAPBTPAuditLog_CL
| where Category == "audit.security-events"
| extend data_s = tostring(Message.data),
         ipAddress = tostring(Message.ip)
| extend parsedData = parse_json(data_s)
| extend action = tostring(parsedData.action),
         objectType = tostring(parsedData.objectType),
         objectId = tostring(parsedData.objectId),
         policyMessage = tostring(parsedData.attributes.message)
| where objectType in (accessPolicyTypes)
| where action in (monitoredActions)
| extend normalizedAction = case(
    action == "Create", "created",
    action == "Change", "modified",
    action == "Delete", "deleted",
    action
)
| extend MessageText = case(
    objectType == "Access Policy", strcat("Access policy '", objectId, "' was ", normalizedAction),
    objectType == "Artifact Reference", strcat("Artifact reference '", objectId, "' was ", normalizedAction),
    strcat(objectType, " '", objectId, "' was ", normalizedAction)
)
| project
    UpdatedOn,
    UserName,
    MessageText,
    ObjectType = objectType,
    ObjectId = objectId,
    Action = action,
    PolicyMessage = policyMessage,
    Tenant,
    ipAddress,
    CloudApp = "SAP Cloud Integration"
| extend AccountName = split(UserName, "@")[0], UPNSuffix = split(UserName, "@")[1]
```

## Escalation Criteria
- File and Directory Permissions Modification activity observed on a privileged account or critical system.
- Activity follows or precedes other suspicious behaviour in the same investigation.
- Automated triage cannot confidently rule out malicious intent.

## False Positive Considerations
- Legitimate administrative or maintenance activity matching this pattern.
- Approved security testing or red team exercise.
- Known benign software producing similar telemetry.

Generated by SOC Response Atlas by Basyrix.