Inbox Rules Creation Or Update Activity in O365

Description

Detects inbox rule creation or update via O365 Audit logs, a technique commonly observed in Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks to hide emails. The usage of inbox rules can be a sign of a compromised mailbox, where an attacker is attempting to evade detections by suppressing or redirecting incoming emails. Analysts should review these rules in context, validate whether they reflect normal user behavior, and correlate with other indicators such as unusual login activity or recent mailbox rule modifications.

Query · sigma

selection:
  Operation:
  - New-InboxRule
  - Set-InboxRule
  Parameters|contains:
  - DeleteMessage
  - MarkAsRead
  - MoveToFolder
  - SubjectOrBodyContainsWords
condition: selection

Known false positives

  • Legitimate inbox rules created by users or administrators to manage email flow such as filtering, organizing, or automating email handling.
Raw source Inbox Rules Creation Or Update Activity in O365 · Sigma
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Published by SigmaHQ/sigma ↗, licensed under Detection Rule License 1.1 ↗. Reproduced here unmodified. 
title: Inbox Rules Creation Or Update Activity in O365
id: d3577be1-42c9-44a7-b56e-2e8de97349d3
status: experimental
description: |
    Detects inbox rule creation or update via O365 Audit logs, a technique commonly observed in Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks to hide emails.
    The usage of inbox rules can be a sign of a compromised mailbox, where an attacker is attempting to evade detections by suppressing or redirecting incoming emails.
    Analysts should review these rules in context, validate whether they reflect normal user behavior, and correlate with other indicators such as unusual login activity or recent mailbox rule modifications.
references:
    - https://redcanary.com/threat-detection-report/techniques/email-hiding-rules/
    - https://learn.microsoft.com/it-it/powershell/module/exchangepowershell/set-inboxrule?view=exchange-ps
    - https://learn.microsoft.com/it-it/powershell/module/exchangepowershell/new-inboxrule?view=exchange-ps
author: Marco Pedrinazzi (@pedrinazziM) (InTheCyber)
date: 2026-01-09
tags:
    - attack.stealth
    - attack.t1564.008
    - attack.exfiltration
    - attack.collection
    - attack.t1114.003
    - detection.threat-hunting
logsource:
    service: audit
    product: m365
    definition: "Requirements: The 'Parameters' field is a list of dict. A correct mapping to the 'Value' field inside is recommended to avoid greedy search"
detection:
    selection:
        Operation:
            - 'New-InboxRule'
            - 'Set-InboxRule'
        Parameters|contains:
            - 'DeleteMessage'
            - 'MarkAsRead'
            - 'MoveToFolder'
            - 'SubjectOrBodyContainsWords'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate inbox rules created by users or administrators to manage email flow such as filtering, organizing, or automating email handling.
level: medium

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