Workbook templates in Microsoft Sentinel provide pre-built visualizations and analytics that help security analysts monitor and investigate threats effectively. These templates serve as starting points for creating customizable dashboards tailored to your organization's specific security needs.
To…Workbook templates in Microsoft Sentinel provide pre-built visualizations and analytics that help security analysts monitor and investigate threats effectively. These templates serve as starting points for creating customizable dashboards tailored to your organization's specific security needs.
To activate workbook templates, navigate to Microsoft Sentinel in the Azure portal and select 'Workbooks' from the left menu under Threat Management. You will see a gallery of available templates organized by categories such as identity, network, and endpoint security. Each template corresponds to specific data connectors and provides insights relevant to that data source.
When activating a template, first ensure the required data connector is configured and collecting data. Select the desired template and click 'View template' to preview its contents. If the visualization meets your requirements, click 'Save' to create an instance of the workbook in your workspace. You can choose to save it to a resource group for team access.
Customization allows you to modify workbooks to align with organizational requirements. After saving, click 'Edit' to enter editing mode. You can add new components including queries, parameters, text boxes, and various visualization types such as charts, grids, and maps. Modify existing queries using Kusto Query Language (KQL) to filter data based on specific criteria like time ranges, severity levels, or particular assets.
Parameters enable dynamic filtering, allowing analysts to adjust views based on dropdown selections or time pickers. You can add conditional visibility to show or hide sections based on data availability. Custom metrics and thresholds help highlight anomalies or critical events.
After customization, save your changes and consider sharing the workbook with your security team through Azure role-based access control. Regular updates ensure workbooks remain relevant as your security landscape evolves and new threats emerge. Version control helps track modifications over time.
Activate and Customize Workbook Templates in Microsoft Sentinel
Why It Is Important
Workbook templates in Microsoft Sentinel are essential for Security Operations Analysts because they provide pre-built visualizations and dashboards that help monitor, analyze, and respond to security threats effectively. Understanding how to activate and customize these templates enables analysts to:
• Quickly gain visibility into security data across the organization • Create tailored views that match specific organizational needs • Reduce time spent building reports from scratch • Improve incident response through better data visualization • Meet compliance and reporting requirements efficiently
What Are Workbook Templates?
Workbook templates are pre-configured, interactive reports in Microsoft Sentinel that display security data through charts, graphs, tables, and other visual elements. Microsoft provides numerous built-in templates that cover various security scenarios, including:
• Azure Active Directory sign-in logs • Office 365 activity monitoring • Threat intelligence analysis • Security alerts and incidents overview • Network traffic analysis • Data connector health monitoring
These templates are based on Azure Monitor Workbooks and use Kusto Query Language (KQL) to retrieve and display data from your Log Analytics workspace.
How It Works
Step 1: Accessing Workbook Templates Navigate to Microsoft Sentinel in the Azure portal, then select Workbooks from the Threat Management section. You will see a Templates tab containing all available workbook templates.
Step 2: Activating a Workbook Template To activate a template: 1. Browse or search for the desired template 2. Select the template to view its description and requirements 3. Click View template to preview the workbook with your data 4. Click Save to create your own copy of the workbook 5. Choose a location (resource group) and provide a name
Step 3: Customizing Workbooks Once saved, you can customize the workbook by: • Clicking Edit to enter editing mode • Modifying existing KQL queries to filter or expand data • Adding new visualization elements (charts, grids, text) • Adjusting time ranges and parameters • Creating interactive filters and dropdowns • Rearranging or removing elements • Adding conditional formatting to highlight critical data
Step 4: Saving and Sharing After customization, save changes using Save or Save As for a new version. Workbooks can be shared through Azure RBAC permissions or by exporting as ARM templates.
Key Components to Understand
• Parameters: Allow users to filter data dynamically within the workbook • Queries: KQL statements that retrieve data from Log Analytics • Visualizations: Include charts, grids, tiles, and maps • Groups: Organize related elements together • Links: Enable navigation between workbooks or external resources
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Activate and Customize Workbook Templates
1. Know the prerequisites: Understand that workbook templates require appropriate data connectors to be configured and data flowing into the Log Analytics workspace.
2. Remember the workflow: Templates must be saved before they can be edited and customized. The original template remains unchanged.
3. Understand permissions: Users need at least Workbook Contributor role to save and modify workbooks in a resource group.
4. Focus on KQL basics: Questions may test your understanding of modifying queries within workbooks to achieve specific results.
5. Differentiate between View and Save: Viewing a template shows data temporarily; saving creates a persistent, editable copy.
6. Know common templates: Be familiar with popular templates like Azure AD Sign-ins, Security Alerts, and Investigation Insights.
7. Remember sharing options: Workbooks can be shared at the resource group level or exported as ARM templates for deployment elsewhere.
8. Practice scenario-based thinking: When asked which template to use, consider what data source and visualization would best address the security requirement described.
9. Understand versioning: When you modify a saved workbook, you can use Save As to create multiple versions for different purposes.