---
title: M365 Defender Alerts Signal (UAL)
description: Identifies alerts generated by Microsoft Defender products including Windows Defender for Endpoint (WDATP), Microsoft Cloud App Security (MCAS), Microsoft...
url: https://www.elastic.co/docs/reference/security/prebuilt-rules/rules_building_block/initial_access_microsoft_defender_alerts_signal
products:
  - Elastic Security
---

# M365 Defender Alerts Signal (UAL)
Identifies alerts generated by Microsoft Defender products including Windows Defender for Endpoint (WDATP), Microsoft
Cloud App Security (MCAS), Microsoft Defender for Identity, Microsoft 365 Defender custom detections, and Defender
Experts for XDR via M365 Unified Audit Logs (UAL). These cross-platform alerts indicate detected threats across
endpoints, cloud applications, and identity systems. This building block rule generates security events for correlation,
threat hunting, and telemetry collection to support comprehensive threat detection.
**Rule type**: query
**Rule indices**:
- logs-o365.audit-*

**Rule Severity**: medium
**Risk Score**: 47
**Runs every**: 
**Searches indices from**: `now-9m`
**Maximum alerts per execution**: 100
**References**:
- [[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-endpoint/](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-endpoint/)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-endpoint/)
- [[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-cloud-apps/](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-cloud-apps/)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-cloud-apps/)
- [[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-for-identity/](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-for-identity/)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-for-identity/)
- [[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/office-365-management-api/office-365-management-activity-api-schema#enum-auditlogrecordtype---type-edmint32](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/office-365-management-api/office-365-management-activity-api-schema#enum-auditlogrecordtype---type-edmint32)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/office-365-management-api/office-365-management-activity-api-schema#enum-auditlogrecordtype---type-edmint32)

**Tags**:
- Domain: Cloud
- Domain: SaaS
- Domain: Endpoint
- Data Source: Microsoft 365
- Data Source: Microsoft 365 Audit Logs
- Data Source: Microsoft Defender XDR
- Data Source: Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
- Data Source: Microsoft Defender for Identity
- Use Case: Threat Detection
- Tactic: Initial Access
- Tactic: Execution
- Tactic: Defense Evasion
- Rule Type: BBR
- Rule Type: Custom Query (KQL)
- Platform: Microsoft 365

**Version**: 4
**Rule authors**:
- Elastic

**Rule license**: Elastic License v2

### Additional notes

For information on troubleshooting the maximum alerts warning please refer to this [guide](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/alerts-ui-monitor.html#troubleshoot-max-alerts).

## Investigation guide


## Triage and analysis

This rule identifies Microsoft Defender alerts forwarded through the Microsoft 365 Unified Audit Log (`logs-o365.audit-*`). For alerts and incidents ingested directly from the Microsoft Defender XDR integration data streams (`logs-m365_defender.alert-*` and `logs-m365_defender.incident-*`), enable the corresponding promotion rules instead:
- Microsoft Defender XDR Alert External Alerts (rule_id: c2a0e42b-ac3d-468f-82a5-0082066e1b59)
- Microsoft Defender XDR Incident External Alerts (rule_id: 3c99579e-6491-4562-87f4-4d10f0a822b4)


## Rule Query

```kuery
event.dataset:o365.audit and
    event.code:(WDATPAlerts or MCASAlerts or MicrosoftDefenderForIdentityAudit or MS365DCustomDetection or DefenderExpertsforXDRAdmin)
```

**Framework:** MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic:
  - Name: Initial Access
  - Id: TA0001
  - Reference URL: [[https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0001/](https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0001/)](https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0001/)

**Framework:** MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic:
  - Name: Execution
  - Id: TA0002
  - Reference URL: [[https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0002/](https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0002/)](https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0002/)

**Framework:** MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic:
  - Name: Defense Evasion
  - Id: TA0005
  - Reference URL: [[https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0005/](https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0005/)](https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0005/)