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The Kusto Detective Agency is back with a thrilling new challenge titled “Call of the Cyber Duty”—a high-speed cybersecurity competition where participants race to solve KQL (Kusto Query Language) puzzles. Winners will earn significant prizes and industry recognition.
Key Details:
- 📅 Date: June 8th, 2025
- 🎥 Watch the video: Kusto Detective Agency Challenge
- 📝 Register here: Competition Registration
- 📜 Rules: Official Competition Rules
- Sponsors: Wiz, Check Point Software, Fabric Real-Time Intelligence
You Should Know: KQL & Cybersecurity Commands
1. Essential KQL Commands for the Challenge
Kusto Query Language (KQL) is crucial for log analysis in cybersecurity. Here are key commands:
// Filter security logs for failed login attempts
SecurityEvent
| where EventID == 4625
| summarize FailedLogins = count() by Account
| sort by FailedLogins desc
// Detect brute-force attacks
SecurityEvent
| where EventID == 4625
| summarize Attempts = count() by bin(TimeGenerated, 1h), Account
| where Attempts > 5
| project TimeGenerated, Account, Attempts
// Extract suspicious process executions
DeviceProcessEvents
| where FileName in ("powershell.exe", "cmd.exe")
| where InitiatingProcessFileName != "explorer.exe"
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, FileName, CommandLine
2. Linux & Windows Commands for Cybersecurity
Linux (Log Analysis & Forensics)
Check failed SSH attempts
grep "Failed password" /var/log/auth.log
Monitor active network connections
netstat -tulnp
Analyze suspicious processes
ps aux | grep -E "(sh|bash|python|perl)"
Extract suspicious files (e.g., hidden in /tmp)
find /tmp -type f -name "." -exec ls -la {} \;
Windows (Threat Hunting with PowerShell)
Get failed login events
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Security'; ID=4625}
Check for unusual scheduled tasks
Get-ScheduledTask | Where-Object { $_.State -eq "Running" }
Detect malicious PowerShell execution
Get-WinEvent -LogName "Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational" |
Where-Object { $<em>.Id -eq 4104 -and $</em>.Message -like "Invoke-Expression" }
3. Practice Scenario: Detecting a Cyber Attack
Step 1: Identify unusual process executions.
Step 2: Correlate logs with network traffic.
Step 3: Isolate compromised systems.
// KQL query to detect lateral movement SecurityEvent | where EventID in (4648, 4624) | where LogonType == 3 | summarize count() by TargetAccount | where count_ > 3
What Undercode Say
The Kusto Detective Agency challenge is an excellent opportunity to sharpen KQL skills for real-world cybersecurity investigations. Mastering log analysis, threat hunting, and automation will be key to winning.
Expected Output:
- KQL mastery for threat detection.
- Enhanced log analysis in Azure Sentinel or Microsoft Defender.
- Faster incident response using automated queries.
Prediction
As AI-driven attacks increase, KQL and real-time log analysis will become essential for SOC teams. Competitions like this will push professionals to automate defenses and stay ahead of adversaries.
Would you participate in this challenge? 🚀
References:
Reported By: 0x534c Kustodetectiveagency – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
