Detection Engineering

Event types we support

Learn how to create, tune, and manage custom detection rules in Xpernix to reduce false positives and surface the alerts that matter to your environment.

29 min read Last updated: March 2026

Overview

Xpernix ships with hundreds of pre-built detection rules mapped to MITRE ATT&CK. But every environment is different — a rule that fires on every failed login makes sense for some orgs and creates noise for others. This guide explains how to create and tune rules for your specific context.


Okta System Logs

The System Log contains details of all logged events for an organization, including user authentication, password resets, rate limit errors, user lifecycle information, and any other activity that takes place within the Okta Organization.

The System Log should be the first stop for troubleshooting any Okta issue or learning more about an environment.

[
    {
      "actor": {
        "id": "00uttidj01jqL21aM1d6",
        "type": "User",
        "alternateId": "[email protected]",
        "displayName": "John Doe",
        "detailEntry": null
      },
      "client": {
        "userAgent": {
          "os": "Mac OS X",
          "browser": "CHROME"
        },
        "zone": null,
        "device": "Computer",
        "id": null,
        "ipAddress": "10.0.0.1",
        "geographicalContext": {
          "city": "New York",
          "state": "New York",
          "country": "United States",
          "postalCode": 10013,
          "geolocation": {
            "lat": 40.3157,
            "lon": -74.01
          }
        }
      },
      "device": {
        "id": "guofdhyjex1feOgbN1d9",
        "name": "Mac15,6",
        "os_platform": "OSX",
        "os_version": "14.6.0",
        "managed": false,
        "registered": true,
        "device_integrator": null,
        "disk_encryption_type": "ALL_INTERNAL_VOLUMES",
        "screen_lock_type": "BIOMETRIC",
        "jailbreak": null,
        "secure_hardware_present": true
      },
      "authenticationContext": {
        "authenticationProvider": null,
        "credentialProvider": null,
        "credentialType": null,
        "issuer": null,
        "interface": null,
        "authenticationStep": 0,
        "rootSessionId": "idxBager62CSveUkTxvgRtonA",
        "externalSessionId": "idxBager62CSveUkTxvgRtonA"
      },
      "displayMessage": "User login to Okta",
      "eventType": "user.session.start",
      "outcome": {
        "result": "SUCCESS",
        "reason": null
      },
      "published": "2024-08-13T15:58:20.353Z",
      "securityContext": {
        "asNumber": 394089,
        "asOrg": "ASN 0000",
        "isp": "google",
        "domain": null,
        "isProxy": false
      },
      "severity": "INFO",
      "debugContext": {
        "debugData": {
          "requestId": "ab609228fe84ce59cdcbfa690bcce016",
          "requestUri": "/idp/idx/authenticators/poll",
          "url": "/idp/idx/authenticators/poll"
        }
      },
      "legacyEventType": "core.user_auth.login_success",
      "transaction": {
        "type": "WEB",
        "id": "ab609228fe84ce59cdcbfa690bgce016",
        "detail": null
      },
      "uuid": "dc9fd3c0-598c-11ef-8478-2b7584bf8d5a",
      "version": 0,
      "request": {
        "ipChain": [
          {
            "ip": "10.0.0.1",
            "geographicalContext": {
              "city": "New York",
              "state": "New York",
              "country": "United States",
              "postalCode": 10013,
              "geolocation": {
                "lat": 40.3157,
                "lon": -74.01
              }
            },
            "version": "V4",
            "source": null
          }
        ]
      },
      "target": [
        {
          "id": "pfdfdhyjf0HMbkP2e1d7",
          "type": "AuthenticatorEnrollment",
          "alternateId": "unknown",
          "displayName": "Okta Verify",
          "detailEntry": null
        },
        {
          "id": "0oatxlef9sQvvqInq5d6",
          "type": "AppInstance",
          "alternateId": "Okta Admin Console",
          "displayName": "Okta Admin Console",
          "detailEntry": null
        }
      ]
    }
  ]

AWS CloudTrail Logs

{"Records": [{
    "eventVersion": "1.08",
    "userIdentity": {
        "type": "IAMUser",
        "principalId": "EXAMPLE6E4XEGITWATV6R",
        "arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Mateo",
        "accountId": "123456789012",
        "accessKeyId": "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE",
        "userName": "Mateo",
        "sessionContext": {
            "sessionIssuer": {},
            "webIdFederationData": {},
            "attributes": {
                "creationDate": "2023-07-19T21:11:57Z",
                "mfaAuthenticated": "false"
            }
        }
    },
    "eventTime": "2023-07-19T21:17:28Z",
    "eventSource": "ec2.amazonaws.com",
    "eventName": "StartInstances",
    "awsRegion": "us-east-1",
    "sourceIPAddress": "192.0.2.0",
    "requestParameters": {
        "instancesSet": {
            "items": [
                {
                    "instanceId": "i-EXAMPLE56126103cb"
                },
                {
                    "instanceId": "i-EXAMPLEaff4840c22"
                }
            ]
        }
    },
    "responseElements": {
        "requestId": "e4336db0-149f-4a6b-844d-EXAMPLEb9d16",
        "instancesSet": {
            "items": [
                {
                    "instanceId": "i-EXAMPLEaff4840c22",
                    "currentState": {
                        "code": 0,
                        "name": "pending"
                    },
                    "previousState": {
                        "code": 80,
                        "name": "stopped"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "instanceId": "i-EXAMPLE56126103cb",
                    "currentState": {
                        "code": 0,
                        "name": "pending"
                    },
                    "previousState": {
                        "code": 80,
                        "name": "stopped"
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    },
    "requestID": "e4336db0-149f-4a6b-844d-EXAMPLEb9d16",
    "eventID": "e755e09c-42f9-4c5c-9064-EXAMPLE228c7",
    "readOnly": false,
    "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
    "managementEvent": true,
    "recipientAccountId": "123456789012",
    "eventCategory": "Management",
     "tlsDetails": {
        "tlsVersion": "TLSv1.2",
        "cipherSuite": "ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256",
        "clientProvidedHostHeader": "ec2.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
    },
    "sessionCredentialFromConsole": "true"
}]}

AWS S3 Access Logs


Windows Event Logs


Kubernetes Audit Logs

{
  "kind": "Event",
  "apiVersion": "audit.k8s.io/v1",
  "level": "Metadata",
  "requestURI": "/api/v1/namespaces/default/pods",
  "verb": "list",
  "user": {"username": "kubernetes-admin"},
  "objectRef": {"resource": "pods", "namespace": "default"},
  "responseStatus": {"code": 200}
}



Getting Help

Your Xpernix detection engineer reviews all custom rules on request. Open a ticket in your portal or ask in your dedicated Slack channel.

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