Domain Generation Algorithms🔗
The Domain Generation Algorithm (DGA) Detector is a machine learning classifier that has been trained with both known information on real domain names and on malicious domain names. The DGA Detector then applies that learning to the client’s streaming DNS data in order to find domains that potentially could be indicators of malicious activity.
The DGA Detector classifies domains into two categories: good or bad. When it finds a bad domain, it sends it as an alert to the Secureworks® Taegis™ XDR Dashboard and the XDR Alert Database. Note that when an alert is added, it doesn’t indicate that the domain is intrinsically bad—but it can help you identify or confirm malicious activity in combination with other alerts provided by the other Detectors.
Requirements🔗
This detector requires the following data sources, integrations, or schemas:
- DNS
Note
Taegis and Red Cloak™ Endpoint Agent DNS feed and any other source of DNS events that are ingested and normalized into the XDR data lake in real time with a typical latency of no more than an hour.
Inputs🔗
Detections are from the following normalized sources:
- DNS
Outputs🔗
Alerts from this detector are pushed to the XDR Alert Database and Alert Triage Dashboard.
Configuration Options🔗
This detector is enabled by default when the required data sources or integrations are available in the tenant.
Note
Event data related to alerts produced by the Domain Generation Algorithm (DGA) detector may be delayed up to ten minutes after the alert appears in the XDR application.
MITRE ATT&CK Category🔗
- MITRE Enterprise ATT&CK - Command And Control - Domain Generation Algorithms. For more information, see MITRE Technique T1568.002.
Detector Testing🔗
This detector does not have a supported testing method, though an Advanced Search will verify if alerts originated with this detector.
Note
If no supported testing method is available, an Advanced Search will show you if any alerts came from this detector if a qualifying event was observed. A search with no results does not indicate the detector is not working. A lack of search results for the detector may only indicate that the specific attack has not been observed in the tenant. However, it could indicate the underlying data is not available. Ensure the required schemas are provided in Data Sources along with the supported device type(s) for that schema.
References🔗
- Schemas