Advanced SOC Operations with Microsoft Sentinel & KQL

Name: Advanced SOC Operations with Microsoft Sentinel & KQL
Rating: 5.0 (5 reviews)

A Complete Hands-On Training in Advanced Security Operations, Automation, and Analytics with Microsoft Sentinel and KQL

Created byAnand Rao Nednur

Last updated 4/2026

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Understand Microsoft Sentinel architecture, deployment models, and multi-workspace design for enterprise and MSSP environments.
Configure and manage data collection from multiple sources, including Azure, Microsoft 365, and third-party platforms using connectors, APIs, and Syslog.
Apply log management strategies including ingestion, retention, archival, and restoration for optimized performance and cost efficiency.
Enrich event data with threat intelligence, watchlists, and contextual data to improve detection and investigation accuracy.
Implement data transformation and normalization through ASIM (Advanced SIEM Information Model) for cross-source detection.
Develop advanced Kusto Query Language (KQL) skills for analytics, hunting, and visualization.
Create custom analytic rules for real-time threat detection and correlation across multiple data sources.
Automate incident response workflows using SOAR capabilities, Logic Apps, and automation rules.
Build and customize workbooks, dashboards, and reports for operational visibility and KPI tracking.
Utilize Jupyter Notebooks and MSTICPy for advanced investigation, data analysis, and visualization.
Design and deploy use cases and Sentinel content packs tailored to specific attack scenarios and threat models.
Perform proactive threat hunting using built-in and custom hunting queries aligned with MITRE ATT&CK tactics.
Investigate and manage incidents end-to-end using Sentinel’s entity behavior, timelines, and correlation views.
Leverage User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) to detect insider threats and anomalous behavior patterns.
Monitor and maintain Microsoft Sentinel’s operational health, performance, and integration with other Microsoft security solutions.
Extend Sentinel through APIs, custom connectors, and machine learning models for predictive analytics.

Course content

2 sections • 22 lectures • 2h 31m total length

1.1 The Modern Cyber Threat Landscape13:42
Explore the modern cyber threat landscape, from ransomware as a service to supply chain attacks, and learn why modern SOCs rely on SIEM to cut through noise and guide analysts.
2 Understanding SIEM5:36
Operate a security information and event management system as the central command center, collecting, normalizing, and analyzing data with Microsoft Sentinel to enable behavioral analytics, threat intelligence, and soar.
3 Understanding SOAR5:32
Explore how SOAR orchestrates tools, automates responses, and accelerates containment, while SIM provides visibility, all within Microsoft Sentinel's unified, cloud-native platform.
4_ Introducing Microsoft Sentinel5:31
Explore Microsoft Sentinel as a cloud-native fusion of sim and soar, delivering scalable analytics, user and entity behavioral analytics with threat intel, and automated responses via playbooks.
4_ Introducing Microsoft Sentinel5:31
5 Microsoft Sentinel Architecture Overview4:53
6 Data Ingestion & Threat Detection in Sentinel4:44
7 Investigation, Hunting & Response with Sentinel5:25
Sentinel links alerts to the investigation graph, enables proactive hunting with kql, and speeds response via manual actions or playbooks, creating an end-to-end soc loop.

01 Introduction to KQL2:25
Explore KQL, the Kusto Query Language, to interrogate logs in Microsoft Sentinel, Log Analytics, and Azure Data Explorer. Filter, join, and summarize tables to detect anomalies and speed SOC investigations.
2.1.1 KQL - Intro to tables and Pipes8:20
Discover how KQL uses a table as the entry point, pipes to chain commands, and operators like take and sort to explore authentication events and Titan Shield emails.
2.1.2 – Tables and schema - Your Data Foundations3:50
2.1.3 – Operators The Building Blocks_Practice Code12:23
2.1.4 – Pipes and Commenting8:47
2.2 Filtering Basics with where6:19
2.3 Advanced Filtering Logical Operators & Time Filters (ago(), between())9:14
2.4 Common Mistakes & Best Practices with where10:20
2.5 Selecting Columns with project11:51
Project the most relevant columns to speed log scans, focusing on time, username, and src_ip. Use ago or between filters and create mb/gb columns from bytes in kql.
2.6 Renaming & Standardizing Fields with project-rename10:13
Standardize inconsistent log fields with project-rename to unify accounts and IP addresses across logs. Join datasets on the account key to enable cross-source SOC correlation.
2.7 Creating New Fields with extend8:33
Enrich logs in Microsoft Sentinel with KQL extend by creating new fields, performing calculations, categorization, and string manipulations to reveal time-based insights and domain extraction.
2.8 - Conditional Expressions with iff() and case()5:30
2.9 Parsing Unstructured Data with parse5:20
2.9.1 SOC-Style parse Example7:13
KQL's parse operator turns messy firewall logs into structured fields like timestamp, device, src_ip, destination_ip, and bytes, enabling top talkers and internal traffic analysis in Sentinel.

Requirements

Understanding of SOC processes such as detection, investigation, and incident response.
Familiarity with security frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK and NIST CSF.
Ability to navigate the Azure portal and manage Azure resources.
Understanding of Azure Active Directory, subscriptions, and resource groups.
Knowledge of log collection, correlation, and alerting principles.
Awareness of how endpoint, identity, and cloud telemetry integrate into Sentinel.
Familiarity with query logic or data analysis concepts (SQL or log queries).

Description

The Advanced SOC Operations with Microsoft Sentinel & KQL course is an expert-level program designed to build deep technical and operational expertise in managing and optimizing Microsoft Sentinel within modern Security Operations Centers (SOCs).

This course takes participants beyond introductory knowledge to focus on real-world SOC operations, advanced analytics, automation, and proactive threat hunting using Microsoft Sentinel and Kusto Query Language (KQL). Learners will develop the ability to architect and operate enterprise-grade Sentinel environments, correlate data across diverse sources, automate responses through SOAR, and apply machine learning and behavioral analytics for advanced threat detection.

Through a blend of theory, demonstrations, and hands-on lab exercises, participants will explore every major component of Microsoft Sentinel—data connectors, normalization through ASIM, UEBA, analytics rule creation, watchlists, workbooks, notebooks, and incident response workflows. The course emphasizes practical skills that align with real SOC workflows and modern security challenges.

This program is also highly recommended for professionals preparing for Microsoft’s Security Operations Analyst certification (SC-200) and related advanced security credentials such as AZ-500 and SC-900. The course content and exercises are structured to reinforce Microsoft’s official learning paths and provide the depth of understanding required to perform effectively in enterprise security operations roles.

Upon completion, learners will be equipped to:

Deploy and manage Microsoft Sentinel at scale across multi-tenant or hybrid environments.
Create and optimize analytic rules, hunting queries, and automation playbooks.
Conduct complex threat investigations and incident response using advanced KQL and integrated analytics.
Leverage threat intelligence, UEBA, and machine learning capabilities for proactive defense.
Maintain and monitor the operational health and efficiency of the Sentinel environment.

This course is ideal for cybersecurity professionals seeking to advance their careers in SOC operations, threat hunting, and cloud security architecture, and for those pursuing Microsoft’s security certifications as part of their professional development roadmap.

Who this course is for:

Professionals responsible for monitoring, detecting, investigating, and responding to security incidents.
Those designing, implementing, and maintaining Microsoft Sentinel environments across hybrid and multicloud infrastructures.
Security Operations Center (SOC) Analysts
Security Engineers and Architects
Analysts focused on proactive threat detection, behavioral analysis, and adversary emulation using KQL and MITRE ATT&CK frameworks.
Practitioners who use Sentinel for incident triage, evidence gathering, and response automation.
Engineers seeking to extend their Azure expertise into SIEM and SOAR capabilities using Microsoft Sentinel.
Threat Hunters
Incident Responders and Forensic Analysts
Cloud and Azure Security Specialists
Engineers seeking to extend their Azure expertise into SIEM and SOAR capabilities using Microsoft Sentinel.
Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP) Engineers
Professionals delivering multi-tenant monitoring and threat detection services using Sentinel.
Security Managers and Team Leads
Leaders responsible for building SOC capabilities, defining detection strategies, and ensuring operational excellence.
Staff transitioning into security operations who want to leverage Sentinel for visibility, compliance, and risk reduction.
IT Administrators and Infrastructure Engineers

Advanced SOC Operations with Microsoft Sentinel & KQL

What you'll learn

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Course content

Module 1 : Foundations of Modern SOC & Microsoft Sentinel8 lectures • 41min

Module 2: KQL Mastery for Security Analysis14 lectures • 1hr 50min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: