Credential-based threats—such as password sprays, token reuse, and low-complexity sign-in attempts—remain a constant operational burden. While these activities are easily detected in most environments, the workflows to fully contain and clear them often remain manual. Blocking IPs, terminating sessions, and later managing blocklist hygiene consume valuable analyst time and introduce inconsistency into daily operations.
To address this, Accelerynt has developed and open-sourced a set of Microsoft Sentinel–integrated playbooks that automate this cycle from end to end.
Problem: Repetitive Tasks Undermine Speed and Focus
In many organizations, handling identity-based alerts still involves multiple manual steps:
- Blocking IPs across firewalls or third-party systems
- Manually revoking user session tokens in Azure AD
- Tracking and removing expired or no-longer-relevant IP blocks
These tasks are often small in scope, but high in frequency. Analysts may handle hundreds of IP blocks per day, diverting attention from higher-value work. Worse, inconsistent cleanup increases the likelihood of unintended access issues or policy sprawl.
This pattern increases response consistency, decreases time-to-containment, and contributes directly to operational drag.
Why We Built This Playbook Chain
Working with enterprise SOCs, our teams identified three recurring pain points in identity alert response:
- IPs tied to malicious activity need to be blocked immediately and consistently.
- If a login is successful, associated sessions must be revoked to remove adversary access.
- Once a threat window closes, blocks must be reviewed and removed to prevent disruption.
To address this, we developed three playbooks, each solving a specific point in the workflow:
Automatically adds IPs from Sentinel incidents to designated blocklists. Supports integration with firewall rulesets, EDR policies, or custom APIs.
Forcibly terminates Azure AD user session tokens linked to a Sentinel incident. Designed to break persistence if a credential has been successfully used.
Removes IPs from previously updated blocklists based on defined conditions or triggers, restoring access and preventing unnecessary lockouts.
Together, these playbooks provide a repeatable, integrated response flow aligned with Microsoft-native telemetry and SOAR functionality.
Implementation Model
Each playbook can be triggered independently, but they are most effective when used together:
- A Sentinel analytic rule detects a suspicious sign-in or credential abuse pattern.
- The incident triggers IP blocking via AS-IP-Blocklist.
- If the event indicates access was granted, AS-Revoke-Azure-AD-User-Session can be chained to force reauthentication.
- After a predefined interval or confidence update, AS-IP-Blocklist-Remove-IPs clears the entry.
This model ensures that all necessary response actions are handled consistently and automatically—without introducing new tools or increasing complexity.
Strategic Benefits
By operationalizing this full response sequence, SOC teams can:
- Reduce time spent on low-complexity tasks
- Eliminate manual errors in high-volume IP blocking workflows
- Break session persistence early in the compromise timeline
- Maintain clean, governed blocklists with minimal administrative effort
- Improve containment consistency without increasing analyst workload
This chain reflects a pragmatic approach to incident response—focused on speed, consistency, and long-term sustainability.
Access the Playbooks
Each repository includes deployment instructions, required permissions, and configuration guidance for Microsoft Sentinel integration.
Let’s Talk
If your team is spending time on credential abuse alerts but still facing inconsistent containment or backlog issues, we can help. Accelerynt works with enterprise security teams to implement automation strategies aligned with Microsoft security platforms, Zero Trust principles, and operational outcomes.
