Elastic Security Detection Rules

AWS RDS Snapshot Export

Last updated 11 days ago on 2025-11-24
Created 4 years ago on 2021-06-06

About

Identifies the export of a DB snapshot or DB cluster data to Amazon S3. Snapshot exports can be used for analytics or migration workflows, but adversaries may abuse them to exfiltrate sensitive data outside of RDS-managed storage. Exporting a snapshot creates a portable copy of the database contents, which, if performed without authorization, can indicate data theft, staging for exfiltration, or operator misconfiguration that exposes regulated information.
Tags
Domain: CloudData Source: AWSData Source: Amazon Web ServicesUse Case: Asset VisibilityTactic: CollectionTactic: ExfiltrationLanguage: kuery
Severity
low
Risk Score
21
MITRE ATT&CK™

Exfiltration (TA0010)(opens in a new tab or window)

Collection (TA0009)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Data from Information Repositories (T1213)(opens in a new tab or window)

False Positive Examples
Snapshot exports may be performed by administrators, automation pipelines, or data engineering workflows. Confirm whether the export was expected and initiated by an authorized user, role, or automation process. Snapshot exports by unfamiliar principals or from unexpected networks should be investigated. If known behavior causes false positives, it can be exempted from the rule.
License
Elastic License v2(opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Query (Kibana Query Language)
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
filebeat-*logs-aws.cloudtrail-*
Related Integrations

aws(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
event.dataset: aws.cloudtrail 
    and event.provider: rds.amazonaws.com 
    and event.action: StartExportTask 
    and event.outcome: success

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect AWS RDS Snapshot Export in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(opens in a new tab or window).