# T1572 - Protocol Tunneling

## SOC Recommendation
Investigate Protocol Tunneling activity in the context of Command and Control: 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 |
|---|---|---|
| User Geolocation Logon Pattern Analysis | Detect | Monitor for User Geolocation Logon Pattern Analysis indicators relevant to this technique. |
| Network Traffic Filtering | Isolate | Apply Network Traffic Filtering to contain the blast radius once this technique is observed. |

## 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
//TOR Node Network Indicators - Block Recommended
let timeFrame= 5m;
CyfirmaIndicators_CL 
| where ConfidenceScore >= 80
    and TimeGenerated between (ago(timeFrame) .. now())
    and pattern !contains 'file:hashes' and RecommendedActions has 'Block' and Roles has 'TOR'
| extend IPv4 = extract(@"ipv4-addr:value\s*=\s*'([^']+)'", 1, pattern)
| extend IPv6 = extract(@"ipv6-addr:value\s*=\s*'([^']+)'", 1, pattern)
| extend URL = extract(@"url:value\s*=\s*'([^']+)'", 1, pattern)
| extend Domain = extract(@"domain-name:value\s*=\s*'([^']+)'", 1, pattern)
| extend parsed = parse_json(extensions)
| extend extensionKeys = bag_keys(parsed)
| mv-expand extensionKeys
| extend extensionKeyStr = tostring(extensionKeys)
| extend ext = parsed[extensionKeyStr]
| extend props = ext.properties
| extend 
    extension_id = extensionKeyStr,
    ASN_Owner = props.asn_owner,
    ASN = props.asn,
    ProviderName = 'CYFIRMA',
    ProductName = 'DeCYFIR/DeTCT'
| project
    IPv4,
    IPv6,
    URL,
    Domain,
    ThreatActors,
    RecommendedActions,
    Sources,
    Roles,
    Country,
    IPAbuse,
    name,
    Description,
    ConfidenceScore,
    IndicatorID,
    created,
    modified,
    valid_from,
    Tags,
    ThreatType,
    TimeGenerated,
    SecurityVendors,
    ProductName,
    ProviderName
```
```kql
//TOR Node Network Indicators - Monitor Recommended 
let timeFrame= 5m;
CyfirmaIndicators_CL 
| where ConfidenceScore >= 80
    and TimeGenerated between (ago(timeFrame) .. now())
    and pattern !contains 'file:hashes' and RecommendedActions has 'Monitor' and Roles has 'TOR'
| extend IPv4 = extract(@"ipv4-addr:value\s*=\s*'([^']+)'", 1, pattern)
| extend IPv6 = extract(@"ipv6-addr:value\s*=\s*'([^']+)'", 1, pattern)
| extend URL = extract(@"url:value\s*=\s*'([^']+)'", 1, pattern)
| extend Domain = extract(@"domain-name:value\s*=\s*'([^']+)'", 1, pattern)
| extend parsed = parse_json(extensions)
| extend extensionKeys = bag_keys(parsed)
| mv-expand extensionKeys
| extend extensionKeyStr = tostring(extensionKeys)
| extend ext = parsed[extensionKeyStr]
| extend props = ext.properties
| extend 
    extension_id = extensionKeyStr,
    ASN_Owner = props.asn_owner,
    ASN = props.asn,
    ProviderName = 'CYFIRMA',
    ProductName = 'DeCYFIR/DeTCT'
| project
    IPv4,
    IPv6,
    URL,
    Domain,
    ThreatActors,
    RecommendedActions,
    Sources,
    Roles,
    Country,
    IPAbuse,
    name,
    Description,
    ConfidenceScore,
    IndicatorID,
    created,
    modified,
    valid_from,
    Tags,
    ThreatType,
    TimeGenerated,
    SecurityVendors,
    ProductName,
    ProviderName
```
```kql
let LearningPeriod = 7d;
let RunTime = 1h;
let StartLearningPeriod = LearningPeriod + RunTime;
let DetectionWindowStart = ago(RunTime);
let LearningPortToProtocol1 =  (AzureDiagnostics
| where TimeGenerated between (ago(StartLearningPeriod) .. ago(RunTime))
| where OperationName == "AzureFirewallApplicationRuleLog"
| extend msg_s= column_ifexists('msg_s',Message)
| parse msg_s with Protocol " request from " SourceIp ":" SourcePort:int " to " Fqdn ":" DestinationPort:int "." *
| where isnotempty(DestinationPort)
| summarize LearningTimeCount = count() by LearningTimeDstPort = DestinationPort, LearningTimeProtocol = Protocol, SourceIp, Fqdn);
let LearningPortToProtocol2 = (AZFWNetworkRule
| where TimeGenerated between (ago(StartLearningPeriod) .. ago(RunTime))
| where isnotempty(DestinationPort)
| extend Fqdn = DestinationIp
| summarize LearningTimeCount = count() by LearningTimeDstPort = DestinationPort, LearningTimeProtocol = Protocol, SourceIp, Fqdn);
let LearningPortToProtocol3 = (AZFWApplicationRule
| where TimeGenerated between (ago(StartLearningPeriod) .. ago(RunTime))
| where isnotempty(DestinationPort)
| summarize LearningTimeCount = count() by LearningTimeDstPort = DestinationPort, LearningTimeProtocol = Protocol, SourceIp, Fqdn);
let AlertTimePortToProtocol1 = (AzureDiagnostics
| where TimeGenerated between (DetectionWindowStart .. now())
| where OperationName == "AzureFirewallApplicationRuleLog"
| extend msg_s= column_ifexists('msg_s',Message)
| parse msg_s with Protocol " request from " SourceIp ":" SourcePort " to " Fqdn ":" DestinationPort:int "." *
| where isnotempty(DestinationPort)
| summarize AlertTimeCount = count() by AlertTimeDstPort = DestinationPort, AlertTimeProtocol = Protocol);
let AlertTimePortToProtocol2 = (AZFWNetworkRule
| where TimeGenerated between (DetectionWindowStart .. now())
| where isnotempty(DestinationPort)
| extend Fqdn = DestinationIp
| summarize AlertTimeCount = count() by AlertTimeDstPort = DestinationPort, AlertTimeProtocol = Protocol);
let AlertTimePortToProtocol3 = (AZFWApplicationRule
| where TimeGenerated between (DetectionWindowStart .. now())
| where isnotempty(DestinationPort)
| summarize AlertTimeCount = count() by AlertTimeDstPort = DestinationPort, AlertTimeProtocol = Protocol);
(union isfuzzy=true 
(AlertTimePortToProtocol1 
| join kind=leftouter (LearningPortToProtocol1) on $left.AlertTimeDstPort == $right.LearningTimeDstPort
| where LearningTimeProtocol != AlertTimeProtocol),
(AlertTimePortToProtocol2 
| join kind=leftouter (LearningPortToProtocol2) on $left.AlertTimeDstPort == $right.LearningTimeDstPort
| where LearningTimeProtocol != AlertTimeProtocol),
(AlertTimePortToProtocol3 
| join kind=leftouter (LearningPortToProtocol3) on $left.AlertTimeDstPort == $right.LearningTimeDstPort
| where LearningTimeProtocol != AlertTimeProtocol))
```

## Escalation Criteria
- Protocol Tunneling 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.