A user connected to a VPN from a new country

Cortex XDR Analytics Alert Reference by Alert name

Product

Cortex XDR

Last date published

2024-10-08

Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	30 Days
Required Data	Requires one of the following data sources: Palo Alto Networks Global Protect OR Third-Party VPNs
Detection Modules	Identity Analytics
Detector Tags
ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006) Resource Development (TA0042)
ATT&CK Technique	Compromise Accounts (T1586) Brute Force: Password Guessing (T1110.001)
Severity	Informational

A user connected to a VPN from an unusual country that the user has not connected from before. This may indicate the account was compromised.

Use an account that was possibly compromised to gain access to the network.

See whether the service authentication was successful.
Confirm that the activity is benign (e.g. the user has switched locations and providers).
Verify if the country is an approved country to connect from.
Follow further actions done by the user.

ATT&CK Tactic

ATT&CK Technique

Severity

Low

A user connected to a VPN service from an unusual country. This may indicate the account was compromised.

Use an account that was possibly compromised to gain access to the network.

See whether the service authentication was successful.
Confirm that the activity is benign (e.g. the user has switched locations and providers).
Verify if the country is an approved country to connect from.
Follow further actions done by the user.