Using Get-MgSecurityIncident in Graph PowerShell

In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, staying on top of incidents is critical for safeguarding your Microsoft 365 environment. Microsoft Graph PowerShell provides the Get-MgSecurityIncident cmdlet, enabling administrators to retrieve detailed information about security incidents within their organization. This cmdlet simplifies incident management, offering flexibility for filtering, sorting, and analyzing incidents programmatically.

This article delves into the syntax, examples, tips, common errors, solutions, use cases, and best practices for using the Get-MgSecurityIncident cmdlet effectively.

Cmdlet Syntax

Get-MgSecurityIncident [-Filter <String>] [-Property <String[]>]

Key Parameters:

• -Filter: Filters incidents based on specific criteria, such as dates or severity levels.
• -Property: Specifies the properties of incidents to retrieve.

Note: API permission SecurityIncident.ReadWrite.All is required to use this cmdlet.

Usage Examples

1. Retrieve All Security Incidents

To retrieve all security incidents for your tenant:

Get-MgSecurityIncident

This command lists all incidents, displaying essential details like ID, severity, status, and creation date.

2. Filter Incidents by Creation Date

Retrieve incidents created after a specific date using the -Filter parameter:

Get-MgSecurityIncident -Filter "createdDateTime ge 2024-11-01T00:00:00Z" | Select-Object Id, Severity, Status, CreatedDateTime

This query fetches all incidents created on or after September 30th, 2024.

Cmdlet Tips

• Leverage Filters for Efficiency: Using the -Filter parameter reduces the data returned, which is helpful for large environments with numerous incidents. Example: "status eq 'active'" retrieves only active incidents.
• Combine Parameters for Depth: Combine -Property and -ExpandProperty to include additional details about related entities, such as affected users or devices.
• Automate Incident Reports: Integrate this cmdlet into a scheduled task to generate daily or weekly security incident reports. Pair with Export-Csv for structured output:

Get-MgSecurityIncident -All $true | Export-Csv -Path "SecurityIncidents.csv" -NoTypeInformation

• Explore with Select-Object: Focus on key fields with Select-Object to improve clarity and usability of output.

Use Cases

• Monitoring Recent Incidents: Security administrators can use the cmdlet to monitor incidents created in the last 24 hours, ensuring swift action on newly identified threats:

$today = (Get-Date).ToString("yyyy-MM-ddT00:00:00Z")
Get-MgSecurityIncident -Filter "createdDateTime ge $today" | Select-Object Id, Status, Severity
                                

• Generating Incident Trends Reports: Understanding security trends can inform policy and resource allocation. Use Get-MgSecurityIncident to extract data and analyze incident patterns:

Get-MgSecurityIncident -All $true | Group-Object Severity | Sort-Object Count -Descending

This command groups incidents by severity, helping identify prevalent issues.

• Automating Alerts and Notifications:Combine the cmdlet with email or Teams notifications to alert stakeholders about critical incidents:

$criticalIncidents = Get-MgSecurityIncident -Filter "severity eq 'high'"
if ($criticalIncidents.Count -gt 0) {
    Send-MailMessage -To "securityteam@contoso.com" -Subject "Critical Security Incidents Detected" -Body "There are $($criticalIncidents.Count) high-severity incidents."
}

• Exporting Incidents for Forensic AnalysisExport incidents to CSV for in-depth analysis or integration with third-party tools:

 Get-MgSecurityIncident -All $true | Export-Csv -Path "IncidentDetails.csv" -NoTypeInformation
                            

Possible Errors & Solutions

Error	Cause	Solution
Insufficient privileges to complete the operation	Missing or incorrect API permissions.	Grant the SecurityIncident.ReadWrite.All permission in Azure AD and consent to the changes.
BadRequest: Invalid filter clause	Incorrect syntax in the -Filter parameter.	Verify the filter syntax aligns with the OData query language.
UnknownError: Resource not found.	Incident ID does not exist or query is malformed.	Confirm the incident exists and verify query parameters.
Request_ResourceNotFound	Accessing resources outside the scope of your permissions.	Ensure you have the required permissions and query the correct tenant.

Conclusion

The Get-MgSecurityIncident cmdlet is an invaluable tool for security administrators, providing actionable insights into your organization's threat landscape. By leveraging its filtering and property expansion capabilities, you can streamline incident management, automate reporting, and proactively address vulnerabilities.

Whether you’re monitoring new incidents, analyzing trends, or preparing forensic reports, this cmdlet empowers administrators to strengthen their organization’s security posture. With a combination of practical use cases and robust functionality, Get-MgSecurityIncident serves as a cornerstone for incident management in Microsoft 365 environments.