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Network Security Rules

Detect network-level threats including traffic anomalies, tunneling, beaconing, and suspicious connections.

12 rules in this category.

Rule Summary

ID Title Level ATT&CK
wf-net-001 DNS Tunneling Detection high T1071.004, T1048
wf-net-002 C2 Beaconing Activity high T1071.001
wf-net-003 Unusual Port Activity medium T1571
wf-net-004 Large Data Transfer high T1048
wf-net-005 Port Scan Detection high T1046
wf-net-006 ICMP Anomaly Detection medium T1095
wf-net-007 Non-Standard HTTP/HTTPS Port Usage medium T1571
wf-net-008 Long-Lived Network Connection medium T1071
wf-net-009 Suspicious SSL/TLS Certificate medium T1071.001
wf-net-010 Executable File Transfer Over Network high T1105
wf-net-011 NXDOMAIN/DGA Detection high T1568.002
wf-net-012 SMB Lateral Movement high T1021.002

Rule Details

DNS Tunneling Detection

ID: wf-net-001
Level: high
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects potential DNS tunneling activity indicated by unusually long DNS query domain names (>100 characters), which may indicate data exfiltration or C2 communication via DNS protocol.

Tags: attack.command_and_control, attack.t1071.004, attack.exfiltration, attack.t1048

Detection Logic
  • protocol: DNS

C2 Beaconing Activity

ID: wf-net-002
Level: high
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects potential command-and-control beaconing by identifying connections to external servers classified as botnet or C2 activity by WitFoo lead rules. Regular-interval check-ins are a hallmark of malware C2 communication.

Tags: attack.command_and_control, attack.t1071.001

Detection Logic
  • messageType: botnet_connection

Unusual Port Activity

ID: wf-net-003
Level: medium
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects network connections on non-standard ports that may indicate evasion techniques, backdoor communication, or misconfigurations. Focuses on high-numbered ephemeral ports used as server-side listeners.

Tags: attack.command_and_control, attack.t1571

Detection Logic
  • protocol: ['TCP', 'UDP']

Large Data Transfer

ID: wf-net-004
Level: high
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects unusually large outbound data transfers that may indicate data exfiltration. Triggers when total bytes transferred exceeds 100MB in a single connection/session.

Tags: attack.exfiltration, attack.t1048

Detection Logic
  • totalBytes: 104857600

Port Scan Detection

ID: wf-net-005
Level: high
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects network reconnaissance through port scanning activity. Identified by WitFoo's service discovery classification or IDS rule matches indicating systematic port probing.

Tags: attack.discovery, attack.t1046


ICMP Anomaly Detection

ID: wf-net-006
Level: medium
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects anomalous ICMP traffic patterns that may indicate ICMP tunneling, covert channels, or network reconnaissance. Large ICMP payloads or unusual ICMP types can signify data exfiltration or C2 communication.

Tags: attack.command_and_control, attack.t1095

Detection Logic
  • protocol: ICMP

Non-Standard HTTP/HTTPS Port Usage

ID: wf-net-007
Level: medium
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects HTTP or HTTPS traffic on non-standard ports, which may indicate evasion of network security controls, malware C2 communication, or unauthorized web services.

Tags: attack.command_and_control, attack.t1571


Long-Lived Network Connection

ID: wf-net-008
Level: medium
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects network connections with abnormally long durations that may indicate persistent C2 channels, data exfiltration tunnels, or compromised hosts maintaining backdoor connections. Flags connections classified as anomalous behavior by WitFoo enrichment.

Tags: attack.command_and_control, attack.t1071

Detection Logic
  • messageType: anomalous_behavior
  • protocol: ['TCP', 'SSL', 'TLS']

Suspicious SSL/TLS Certificate

ID: wf-net-009
Level: medium
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects network connections involving suspicious SSL/TLS certificates, including self-signed, expired, or certificates with anomalous attributes. These may indicate man-in-the-middle attacks, malware C2 infrastructure, or compromised certificate authorities.

Tags: attack.command_and_control, attack.t1071.001


Executable File Transfer Over Network

ID: wf-net-010
Level: high
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects transfer of executable files over the network, which may indicate malware delivery, lateral movement tool staging, or unauthorized software distribution. Matches common executable extensions and binary content types.

Tags: attack.command_and_control, attack.t1105, attack.lateral_movement


NXDOMAIN/DGA Detection

ID: wf-net-011
Level: high
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects high rates of DNS resolution failures (NXDOMAIN) that may indicate domain generation algorithm (DGA) activity used by malware for C2 rendezvous. DGA malware generates pseudo-random domain names, most of which fail to resolve.

Tags: attack.command_and_control, attack.t1568.002

Detection Logic
  • protocol: DNS
  • action: ['NXDOMAIN', 'nxdomain', 'SERVFAIL']

SMB Lateral Movement

ID: wf-net-012
Level: high
Status: stable
Author: WitFoo

Detects SMB (Server Message Block) connections between workstations that may indicate lateral movement. Legitimate SMB traffic typically flows from workstations to file servers, not between workstations.

Tags: attack.lateral_movement, attack.t1021.002

Detection Logic
  • serverPort: ['445', '139']