/security-investigation

Audit Trail: Security Investigation

Answer common security investigation questions using pup audit-logs.

Prerequisites

pup auth login   # OAuth2 (recommended)
# or set DD_API_KEY + DD_APP_KEY with audit_logs_read scope

Command Execution Order

1. Clarify the investigation scope: who, what resource type, what time window.
2. Run the most specific query first; broaden only if results are empty.
3. If results are large, pipe to jq to group or summarize.
4. Highlight anomalies: bulk operations, unusual geo, off-hours activity, support user actions.

Common Investigation Queries

Who deleted resources in a time window?

pup audit-logs search --query "@action:deleted" --from 24h -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      actor_type: .attributes.attributes.evt.actor.type,
      resource_type: .attributes.attributes.asset.type,
      resource_id: .attributes.attributes.asset.id,
      country: .attributes.attributes.network.client.geoip.country.name
    }]'

Who modified a specific resource (by ID)?

pup audit-logs search --query "@asset.id:RESOURCE_ID" --from 7d -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      event: .attributes.attributes.evt.name
    }]'

What did a specific user do?

pup audit-logs search --query "@usr.email:user@example.com" --from 7d --limit 200 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      event: .attributes.attributes.evt.name,
      resource_type: .attributes.attributes.asset.type,
      resource_id: .attributes.attributes.asset.id,
      ip: .attributes.attributes.network.client.ip,
      country: .attributes.attributes.network.client.geoip.country.name
    }]'

Login activity — all logins with geo

pup audit-logs search --query "@evt.name:Authentication @action:login" --from 7d --limit 200 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      status: .attributes.attributes.status,
      ip: .attributes.attributes.network.client.ip,
      city: .attributes.attributes.network.client.geoip.city.name,
      country: .attributes.attributes.network.client.geoip.country.name,
      asn: .attributes.attributes.network.client.geoip.as.name
    }]'

Failed logins only

pup audit-logs search --query "@evt.name:Authentication @action:login @status:error" --from 7d --limit 200 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      ip: .attributes.attributes.network.client.ip,
      country: .attributes.attributes.network.client.geoip.country.name
    }]'

Who changed roles or permissions?

pup audit-logs search --query "@evt.name:\"Access Management\"" --from 30d --limit 200 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      resource_type: .attributes.attributes.asset.type,
      resource_id: .attributes.attributes.asset.id
    }]'

What actions came from a specific IP?

pup audit-logs search --query "@network.client.ip:1.2.3.4" --from 30d --limit 200 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      actor_type: .attributes.attributes.evt.actor.type,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      event: .attributes.attributes.evt.name,
      resource_type: .attributes.attributes.asset.type
    }]'

Who created or deleted API keys?

pup audit-logs search --query "@evt.name:Authentication @asset.type:api_key" --from 90d --limit 200 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      key_id: .attributes.attributes.asset.id,
      ip: .attributes.attributes.network.client.ip,
      country: .attributes.attributes.network.client.geoip.country.name
    }]'

Event Category Reference

Anomaly Flags to Surface

When presenting investigation results, call out:

• Actor type SUPPORT_USER — Datadog support accessed the org
• Bulk deletions — same user, same action, many resources in a short window
• Unexpected geography — country not seen in prior logins for this user
• Off-hours activity — actions at unusual times for the user's typical timezone
• First-time ASN — action from a cloud provider or VPN not seen before (@network.client.geoip.as.name)

References

• Audit Trail API
• Audit Trail event categories