Sigma rule: AWS EnableRegion Command Monitoring

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-531266c4e045, updated 2025-10-19T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
AWS EnableRegion Command Monitoring
Status
experimental
Level
medium
Author
Ivan Saakov, Sergey Zelenskiy
Date
2025-10-19
File
rules/cloud/aws/cloudtrail/aws_cloudtrail_region_enabled.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the use of the EnableRegion command in AWS CloudTrail logs.
While AWS has 30+ regions, some of them are enabled by default, others must be explicitly enabled in each account separately.
There may be situations where security monitoring does not cover some new AWS regions.
Monitoring the EnableRegion command is important for identifying potential persistence mechanisms employed by adversaries, as enabling additional regions can facilitate continued access and operations within an AWS environment.

Log source

product
aws
service
cloudtrail

Detection

selection:
    eventName: 'EnableRegion'
    eventSource: 'account.amazonaws.com'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate use of the EnableRegion command by authorized administrators.

Tags

  • attack.persistence

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/cloud/aws/cloudtrail/aws_cloudtrail_region_enabled.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "AWS EnableRegion Command Monitoring" by Ivan Saakov, Sergey Zelenskiy (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/cloud/aws/cloudtrail/aws_cloudtrail_region_enabled.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: AWS EnableRegion Command Monitoring",
entity page, dataset version ref-531266c4e045, updated 2025-10-19T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/a5ffb6ea-c784-4e01-b30a-deb6e58ca2ab (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule a5ffb6ea-c784-4e01-b30a-deb6e58ca2ab, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.