At Black Hat, each new information supply is a trade-off.
Extra telemetry means higher visibility – but additionally extra information for risk hunters to sift via.
From SMA to SAA: Similar Want, Totally different Downside
Not too long ago, Splunk Assault Analyzer (SAA) outdated Safe Malware Analytics (SMA) because the official malware risk evaluation platform at Black Hat.
With SMA, we had a easy and efficient sample:
- Submissions exceeding a rating threshold
- Mechanically surfaced to the Risk Hunters’ incident queue on Cisco XDR
It labored properly. So naturally, we wished the identical consequence with SAA.
SAA gives granular information throughout a number of sourcetypes, permitting for vital flexibility in how info is offered. By mapping these information streams collectively, we tailor-made our reporting to ship a complete, cohesive view of our risk panorama.
The Turning Level: Collaboration
That is the place David and Lily stepped in. They constructed a question that:
- Extracts submission metadata (URL, Job ID, engines used)
- Makes use of the Job ID to retrieve high-scoring outcomes (≥85)
- Joins and reshapes each datasets right into a single, usable construction
This was a transformative shift. By tailoring our configuration to satisfy our particular necessities, we unlocked a brand new degree of visibility. This strategy delivered the deep, actionable insights essential to optimize our workflow.
Constructing the Workflow
With the question prepared, the main focus shifted to automation.
As a substitute of ranging from scratch, we reused present ingestion elements and tailored them for this information construction.
Then got here an vital choice: Deal with what issues for detection of threats at Black Hat.
SAA can settle for any file format and URLs for evaluation which suggests we noticed many protocols getting used, together with:
However solely HTTP had significant quantity and relevance for the occasion.
So, we lower the remaining. POP3/SMTP would get an opportunity subsequent time round.
This was precision – prioritizing affect over completeness.
Enriching with Community Context and lowering noise
A file submitted through HTTP doesn’t exist in isolation – it has community context. So, we enriched every submission with:
- Associated site visitors telemetry
- Directionality
- Motion context (allowed vs blocked)
This turned remoted outcomes into one thing risk hunters might really examine.
At this stage, we hit acquainted challenges:
- Timestamp normalization (epoch → RFC3339)
- Motion context extraction (allowed vs blocked)
- Site visitors directionality
All crucial for correct ingestion into XDR.
One situation practically derailed the correlation logic. Site visitors originating from inside zones was routed via zScaler, leading to:
- Shared vacation spot IPs
- A number of unrelated occasions bundled collectively
This might create false correlations – precisely the noise we have been making an attempt to keep away from.
The repair? A focused exception to filter it out.
Extremely personalized – however efficient.
The End result: Higher Alerts for Hunters
The workflow produced a brand new detection stream in Cisco XDR – powered by SAA submissions, enriched with community context.
At first look, some alerts seemed vital based mostly on their attributes of:
- Excessive scores
- A number of inside techniques concerned
- Suspicious JavaScript obfuscation behaviour
However investigation advised a unique story.
A professional Twitter embed. Flagged by heuristics.
False constructive. And that’s the purpose.
With correct context and evaluation from Assault Storyboard, the crew shortly validated and dismissed it.
And that’s the actual win. This workflow wasn’t about including one other information supply.
It was about:
- Surfacing high-risk submissions mechanically
- Offering community context for quicker triage
- Serving to risk hunters dismiss noise quicker
This workflow is way from good. It should evolve, similar to every thing else we construct at Black Hat.
“In the long run, the very best detection isn’t the highest scored one – it’s the one you’ll be able to act on.”
Take a look at the opposite blogs from our crew at Black Hat Asia 2026.
About Black Hat
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