Deploying a Windows Logon Monitoring Dashboard
Introduction
On day nine, the emphasis was on using Splunkbase to improve analysis and increase detection capabilities. After investigating community-driven applications and add-ons to speed up investigations, I set up a Windows Logon Monitoring Dashboard. This strengthened the lab's overall monitoring strategy and gave real-time visibility into authentication activity, which helped spot suspect logon attempts.
Objective
The objective is to deploy a Windows Logon Monitoring Dashboard to provide real-time visibility into user authentication activities, enabling effective monitoring and analysis of logon events.
In other words, to find, install, and customize a pre-built dashboard from the Splunk community for instant visibility into Windows authentication activity.
The Power of Splunkbase (apps.splunk.com)
SOC Analysts' App Store
What's Splunkbase? It's an extensive marketplace of free add-ons and apps created by the Splunk community to increase the capabilities of Splunk.
What's the purpose of using it?
Speed: Rather than starting from scratch, you can obtain well-built dashboards instantly.
Best Practices: Utilize expert-created searches and visualizations in your field.
Focus: Invest more time in analysis and less in building.
The objective for today is to locate and install the "Windows Logon Dashboard" to obtain real-time information on successful and unsuccessful logons.
locating and downloading the dashboard
Navigate to Splunkbase (apps.splunk.com).
Search for "Windows Logon Dashboard"
You can find a suitable dashboard for you if you like. Often, these are provided as a "Simple XML" file or an app.
Download the XML file or the app package.
Installation - The XML Method
Importing the Blueprint into Your Lab
In Splunk, go to Dashboards and click Create New Dashboard.
Give it a title (e.g., "Windows Logon Activity")
Set permissions (usually "Private" for your lab is fine).
Click "Edit" to open the dashboard in XML source mode
Past and reconfigure some part of the Windows logon dashboard script here
Delete the default XML code and paste the entire contents of the downloaded .xml file.
Click Save.
Review and Reconfigure
Making the Dashboard Your OwnThe Key Step: Pre-built dashboards often require minor adjustments to function effectively in your specific environment.
Common Reconfigurations:
Index Name: Change index=windows to index=main or whatever index your Windows logs are in (e.g., index=win).
Sourcetype: Ensure the sourcetype (e.g., sourcetype="WinEventLog: Security") matches what your forwarders are using.
Hosts: The dashboard might filter for specific hosts. Adjust or remove filters to see data from all your lab machines.
Test: After saving, check if panels populate with data. If not, check the searches within each panel for index/sourcetype mismatches.
Windows Logon Dashboard Overview
A SOC Analyst's View
A professional-grade dashboard providing instant visibility into authentication events.
Typical Panels Include:
Logon Activity Over Time: A timeline chart of successful vs. failed logons.
Top Users with Failed Logons: Quickly identify potential brute force targets.
Logon Type Breakdown: Understanding how users are logging in (Network, Interactive, etc.).
Source IP Geography: A map showing where logons are originating from.
Detailed Event Listing: A table of raw events for deep dive investigation.
This dashboard turns raw event data into immediate, actionable intelligence.
The Value of Customization: From Generic to Specific
Ideas for Customization:
Add a Panel: Incorporate the brute force search you built on Day 7.
Change Thresholds: Adjust the failed login count in panels to better suit your lab's noise levels.
Link to Alerts: Add drill-downs so clicking on a user or IP in the dashboard automatically runs a new search for that entity.
Day 9 Reflection
Goal Achieved: Successfully imported and configured a pre-built Windows Logon dashboard from Splunkbase.
A great security analyst doesn't build everything from scratch. They know how to leverage existing resources and community knowledge to get results faster. Today, I learned how to rapidly deploy a powerful monitoring tool, giving me a professional-level view of my environment in minutes, not days. This allows me to focus on the highest-value task: interpreting the data and hunting for threats.
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