Add Automation Actions
    • 12 Dec 2024
    • 14 Minutes to read
    • PDF

    Add Automation Actions

    • PDF

    Article summary

    Automations aim to enhance efficiency, reduce manual intervention, and ensure timely responses to various events or incidents. Red Canary provides several automations for different tools to improve readiness, ensure reliability and coverage, or to take action.

    Refer to the below examples:

    Add a Send Email Automation Action

    Send Email Setup

    Red Canary allows for emails to be sent as part of any automation playbook. To add the action, follow the steps below:

    1. Within any playbook, click Add Action then scroll down until you see Email

    2. Click Add next to the Send Email action, then fill in the email action’s fields:

      1. Use the To field to define the email recipient addresses

      2. Use the Reply To field to define addresses for responses

      3. Use the Subject field to define a subject for the email

      4. Select an email Template from the available options

      5. Create a email Message based on the template selected

    3. If desired, configure the Send Email action’s optional settings:

      1. Select SMTP to configure a custom SMTP relay for sending emails

      2. Select Require Approval to approve each email before sending

    4. Click Save to finalize and add the email action to your playbook

    Note: The Send Email action allows you to use object attributes to dynamically customize email content. For example, using $Detection.marked_acknowledged_by_user.email will send an email to the user who acknowledged a detection. Learn more at Understand Playbook Features and Attributes.

    SMTP Configuration

    The Send via SMTP option allows emails to be sent using your own SMTP server to increase deliverability. To use a custom SMTP server in a Send Email action, follow the steps below:

    1. Below the message field, check the box labeled Send via custom SMTP relay/server (advanced)

    2. Enter the SMTP From Email Address that will appear as the sender of all automated emails

    3. Enter the hostname or IP address of your SMTP server in the SMTP Host field

    4. Input the SMTP Port number used by your server (Port 587 is most common)

    5. Provide an authorized SMTP Username and SMTP Password for your server

    6. By default, Enable STARTTLS is always True to ensure encrypted communication

    7. Select the SMTP Authentication Method that matches your server setup: either PLAIN or LOGIN

    8. Click Save to apply the SMTP settings to your automated email action

    9. Validate the SMTP by using the Run feature within the playbook to ensure it is properly configured

    Email Templates

    To make setting up emails easier, Red Canary provides several pre-built templates that you can choose from, saving you time and ensuring consistency. Below is a summary of the available templates:

    Custom Freeform Email

    This template is a completely freeform email. Enter text in the Message field and you will receive an email with exactly that.

    Here’s an example:

    Which produces this email:

    Custom Freeform Email with Markdown Rendered into HTML

    This template is similar to the Custom Freeform Email but allows you to use Markdown, which will be converted into HTML format for enhanced formatting options.

    Here’s an example:

    Which produces this email:

    Threat: All Threat Data as JSON

    This template is designed for systems that read structured JSON data from emails; ServiceNow is a common recipient for these messages. The associated threat is sent in JSON format in the email body.

    Here’s an example:

    Which produces this email:

    Threat: Published Notification in HTML

    This template sends information about a threat to users in a condensed, summary format that includes a brief list of identified Indicators of Compromise (IOCs).

    Here’s an example:

    Which produces this email:

    Threat: Human-readable HTML with full timeline

    This template sends information about a threat to users in a condensed, summary format with the complete timeline of the threat, including all relevant activity and identified Indicators of Compromise (IOCs).

    Here’s an example:

    Which produces this email:

    Note: Threat email message templates are only valid when used with threat-based triggers.

    Add a Microsoft Sentinel Automation Action

    Microsoft Sentinel is Microsoft’s security information and event manager (SIEM) platform. You can configure an Automate playbook that sends your Red Canary threats to Microsoft Sentinel for analysis by completing the following steps:

    • Create an Automate playbook.

    • Connect your playbook to an Automate trigger.

    • Add an analysis rule to your Microsoft Sentinel workspace.

    Create a playbook that sends threats to Microsoft Sentinel

    1. Go to go.my.redcanary.co/automate.

    2. Click Playbooks.

    3. Create a new playbook by clicking Create New Playbook. You can also select an existing playbook.

    4. Click Add Action, and then click Send Threat to Sentinel.

    5. Enter your Microsoft Sentinel workspace ID and key. You can enter either your primary or secondary key. For instructions on obtaining these credentials, see Find your workspace ID and key.

    6. Click Save.

    7. Run the Playbook by clicking Run from the Actions menu on the left side of the Playbook.

    8. Select the Threat on which to run the Playbook from the popup.

    9. Click Run.

    The Analysis rule will fail unless the playbook is run first

    Follow the steps 7-9 above to run the playbook in Red Canary. This creates the necessary dependencies in Microsoft Sentinel.

    Add your playbook to a trigger

    1. Go to Automate in Red Canary.

    2. Click Triggers.

    3. Create a new trigger by clicking Configure new trigger and select When a Threat is published trigger condition. You can also select an existing When a Threat is published trigger.

    4. Click Add a Playbook, and select the playbook you created earlier.

    Add analysis rule to Microsoft Sentinel

    To configure Microsoft Sentinel to analyze Red Canary threats:

    1. Go to your Microsoft Sentinel dashboard, and select a workspace.

    2. Click Analytics under the Configuration section of your workspace.

    3. Click Import from the menu at the top of the page.

    4. Upload the analytics rule template file. Click here to download the template file.

    How do I know it's working?

    After you create a playbook and trigger, and add an analysis rule to Microsoft Sentinel, any threats that activate your “When a Threat is published” trigger will create a corresponding Microsoft Sentinel incident.

    Helpful Notes

    Red Canary will publish with the following GUID, useful when filtering or restricting responses to only Red Canary published threats.

    6d263abb-6445-45cc-93e9-c593d3d77b89

    Add a Microsoft Teams Automation Action

    Red Canary’s Microsoft Teams integration allows Teams messages to be created as part of an automation playbook.

    Configure Teams to accept an incoming webhook or workflow URL

    1. Add a custom incoming webhook or Workflow URL within Microsoft Teams.

      Note:

      Microsoft will be retiring Office 365 Connectors in Teams on January 31st, 2025. For an uninterrupted experience, use Workflow URLs instead of inbound webhooks.

    2. Copy the resulting webhook URL or Workflow URL.

    Add a Teams notification to an automation playbook

    1. Within any playbook click Add Action.

    2. Click Microsoft Teams and then click Send Microsoft Teams Message.

    3. Click Add to Playbook.

    4. Enter the webhook URL or Workflow URL from above in Microsoft Teams Webhook URL / Workflow URL.

    5. Specify the Title and Text you want to appear for each message.

      Note: You can use html tags to format text. For example, you can use the HTML line break <br> element to allow for a line break.

    6. Optionally, click Add a Potential Action and specify an action name and URL that should be triggered when the action is selected (learn more about actions in Microsoft Teams messages).

    7. Click Save.

    Add a PagerDuty Automation Action

    PagerDuty integration allows Red Canary to trigger PagerDuty incidents as part of an automation playbook.

    1. In any playbook, click Add Action.

    2. Click PagerDuty, Create PagerDuty Incident and then click Add to Playbook.

    3. Specify the incident message you want to appear in each PagerDuty incident.

    4. Click Save & Connect with PagerDuty.

    5. You will be redirected to the PagerDuty site and asked to authorize Red Canary. Following that, you will be returned to Red Canary.

    When the playbook is triggered, a PagerDuty incident will appear.

    mceclip0.png

    What details are included in the PagerDuty incident?

    Custom details may be specified for each incident using the PagerDuty API. Red Canary adds several fields when a PagerDuty incident is triggered.

    For audit logs:

    • actor is set to the name and email of the user triggering the audit log.

    • timestamp is set to the time the audit log was created.

    • action_name is set to the name of the action that occurred.

    For activity monitors:

    • activity_monitor is set to the activity monitor’s name.

    • num_matches_found is set to the number of matches that were found recently, or were found in this notification.

    For threats:

    • severity is set to the detection’s severity.

    • classification is set to the detection’s root classification.

    • subclassifications is set to a comma-separated list of the detection’s subclassifications.

    • A PagerDuty link is included that links to the confirmed threat in Red Canary.

    Resolve PagerDuty Incidents

    Each Red Canary incident has an incident key associated with the underlying resource that triggered the automation, such as an audit log, detection, or endpoint. These incidents can also be resolved by Red Canary automation.

    For example, a playbook may use Create PagerDuty Incident when a detection is published, and may then use Resolve PagerDuty Incident when a detection is acknowledged. This works because the same detection triggers both the incident creation and resolution actions.

    Add an Opsgenie Automation Action

    Opsgenie integration allows Red Canary to create Opsgenie Alerts as part of an automation playbook.

    1. In any playbook, click Add Action.

    2. Click Create OpsGenie Alert and then click Add to Playbook.

    3. Specify the Opsgenie API key (This information can be found on the Opsgenie “integrations” page under the APIs tab)

    4. Specify the Alert Message (NOTE: this field has a limit of 130 characters. Additional characters will be truncated.)

    5. Specify the Alert Description

    6. Select the desired Alert Priority. The default value is P3.

    Close Opsgenie Alerts

    Opsgenie alerts can also be closed by Red Canary automation.

    For example, a playbook may use Create Opsgenie Alert when a detection is published, and may then use Close Opsgenie Alert when a detection is acknowledged. This works because the same detection triggers both the incident creation and resolution actions.

    1. In any playbook, click Add Action.

    2. Click Close OpsGenie Alert and then click Add to Playbook.

    3. Specify the Opsgenie API key (This information can be found on the Opsgenie “integrations” page under the APIs tab)

    4. Specify the Alert Note

    Add a Phone Call Automation Action

    Add a phone call to your automation playbook that will call specified phone numbers either when the playbook runs or when all actions in a playbook have been successfully completed. These phone numbers are called in sequential order until a recipient acknowledges the call by pressing 1. At this time, there isn't a limit on the number of phone numbers that can be added.

    1. From the navigation menu, click Automations.

    2. Click Playbooks, and then click into a playbook.

    3. Click one of the two Add Action buttons depending on when the phone number should be triggered.

      For example, click Add Action under When this playbook is run, the following actions will be performed in no particular order to trigger the phone calls whenever the playbook is run.

    4. From Phone Call, click Call Phone Numbers, and then click Add to Playbook.

    5. Enter one or more comma-separated phone numbers that should receive the phone call. Add phone numbers using the 164 format, including + and the country code. For example, +16175551212.

      Note: These can be determined dynamically using variables, such as using $Detection.marked_acknowledged_by_user.phone to call the user who acknowledged a threat.

    6. Enter the Message for the recipient.

    7. Specify the number of seconds to wait before calling the next number.

    8. Optionally, select Require approval.

    9. Click Save.

    Use an automation playbook to set up a phone integration that will call specified phone numbers based on trigger criteria. The automation will call the phone numbers listed in the playbook by order until the recipient acknowledges the alert by pressing 1 or 10 retries are exhausted.

    For example, if three phone numbers are listed, they will be called in the following order:

    1. Call phone number 1.

    2. If unanswered or the recipient presses 2 to ignore the message, call phone number 2.

    3. If unanswered or the recipient presses 2 to ignore the message, call phone number 3.

    4. If unanswered or the recipient presses 2 to ignore the message, call phone number 1 again.

    5. Repeat this up to 10 times.

    SMS integration allows Red Canary to send SMS messages as part of an automation playbook.

    Add an SMS Automation Action

    1. In any playbook, click Add Action.

    2. Click SMS and then click Send SMS Message.

    3. Click Add to Playbook.

    4. Enter one or more comma-separated phone numbers that should receive the SMS message. Use the complete '+' and country code, for example: +16175551212.

      You can change the phone number dynamically using variables. For example, you can use the variable $Detection.marked_acknowledged_by_user.phone to message the user who acknowledged a threat.

    5. Enter the message you want to send.

      Send SMS.png

    6. Click Save.

    When the playbook is triggered, Red Canary will send your message to the specified phone number.

    mceclip1.png

    What if SMS messages are not being delivered?

    SMS delivery is carrier and phone dependent, so exercise caution when entering certain Unicode or reserved characters, or interpolating with fields that might contain special characters like filenames.

    What if I do not receive the messages?

    Be sure to check your Spam or Junk folder, and then troubleshoot as necessary by adjusting message contents or sending to a different number or carrier.

    Red Canary uses a highly reliable service provider to deliver SMS codes through carriers around the world. Almost all cases of messages not being delivered are the result of a carrier blocking certain messages. Check your phone or carrier's unknown SMS or spam SMS blocking settings.

    Red Canary’s syslog integration allows you to send syslog messages to a syslog receiver as part of an automation playbook.

    The most common use of the syslog action is sending data to a SIEM or log collection platform, though we recommend using webhooks whenever possible because they are more modern, customizable, and reliable.

    Add a Syslog Automation Action

    1. Within any playbook, click Add Action.

    2. Click Syslog and then click Send Syslog Message.

    3. Click Add to Playbook.

    4. Specify the Server Domain/IP that is configured to receive messages. If you use source restriction, the IP addresses from which communications must be authorized are listed.

    5. Specify the Server Port that messages should be sent to.

    6. Specify whether connections to untrusted servers will be allowed or not.

    7. Select the protocol for sending.

    8. Select the Syslog Program, Syslog Facility, and Syslog Severity that you want messages from Red Canary to use.

    9. Specify the syslog Message that you want sent to the syslog receiver.

    10. Click Save.

    What if my syslog server doesn’t support TLS/SSL?

    Be very careful about the security of any application that is exposed to the internet. At a minimum, use IP source restrictions to only allow traffic from trusted sources (the IP addresses used by Red Canary are specified on the syslog action configuration form).

    To disable Red Canary’s TLS/SSL requirement, set the Protocol to TCP or UDP.

    Red Canary’s webhook integration allows you to trigger any HTTP listener as part of an automation playbook. Common uses of webhooks include the following:

    • Creating tickets in ticket-tracking systems such as ServiceNow or JIRA.

    • Posting data to Security information and event management (SIEM) / log collection platforms like Splunk or SumoLogic.

    • Triggering incidents in paging systems such as OpsGenie or VictorOps (PagerDuty has a distinct integration action).

    • Sending data to a custom business application you have exposed to the internet as custom software, an Azure function, or an AWS endpoint.

    Webhooks are highly customizable and allow you to configure which HTTP method is used and specify HTTP headers that are used for authorization, routing, and so on.

    Add a Webhook Automation Action

    1. Within any playbook, click Add Action.

    2. Click Webhook/API and then click Invoke Webhook or API.

    3. Click Add to Playbook.

    4. Select an HTTP Method that should be used.

    5. Enter the URL that should be invoked.

    6. Optionally, enter one or more HTTP headers that should be included in the HTTP request.

      Note: By default, no HTTP headers are sent.

    7. Specify a Payload type (learn more about these below).

      Note: Payloads are applicable to the POST, PUT, and PATCH HTTP methods.

    8. Click Save.

    Note: For Splunk, a HTTP Event Collector (HEC) token is required in the HTTPS Headers section, with this format: Authorization= Splunk [token]

    Note: Related IP addresses for webhooks and other Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) ingress are provided on your Getting Help page.

    What are payloads?

    A webhook’s payload is the content contained in the body of the HTTP request to the specified URL. These payloads can be customized based on your needs and the API you’re integrating with.

    All attributes as JSON

    This payload type sends all of the objects and attributes that triggered the action to the webhook URL as the body of a JSON post.

    If the receiving application requires the Content-Type header to properly process the message, ensure you specify Content-Type=application/json in the HTTP Headers section.

    Custom payload

    This payload type allows you to specify a fully custom webhook payload. This content can be JSON, text, and so on.

    If required by the receiving application, ensure you send the appropriate HTTP headers using the HTTP Headers section.

    What happens if my payload fails?

    If your application returns an HTTP status code other than 200, we will send an email to your technical contacts with details about the failure to assist you in troubleshooting.

    To prevent flooding your inbox, we will send only one Webhook Failure email per playbook every 24 hours. In addition to this, we will create an Audit Log with Action: Automate Action Executed, and include details about the error in the Details section. We will create this AuditLog every time the Webhook fails. At the moment, we do not allow these AuditLogs to trigger playbooks.

    Add a Slack Automation Action

    Integrating with Slack allows Red Canary to send Slack messages as part of an automation playbook.

    Note: You will need to update your webhooks on both the Red Canary and Slack side once Slack sunsets their legacy webhook feature. Red Canary will develop new documentation once this event happens in Slack.

    Configure Slack to accept an incoming webhook

    1. Go to Slack-Incoming webhook.

    2. Select the channel you want messages posted in and then click Add Incoming WebHooks integration.

    3. Copy the webhook URL.

    Add a Slack notification to an automation playbook

    1. Within any playbook, click Add Action.

    2. Click Slack, Send Slack Message and then click Add to Playbook.

    3. Paste your webhook URL in Slack Webhook URL.

    4. Specify the Channel where messages should be posted.

    5. Specify the title you want to appear for each message, using interpolated values for customization.

    6. Optionally, specify a Title Link as the URL the message should link to when clicked.

    7. Select one of the Slack-supported colors for the left stripe of the message.

    8. Optionally, specify custom fields that should appear in the message body.

    9. Click Save.


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