Automated correlation

concept brazil Updated Sep 10, 2026 3 min read automated-correlation-rules.md
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Automated correlation automatically establishes relationships between threat intelligence records based on predefined rules, helping you identify connections between observables, indicators, and threat objects.

The correlation process automatically establishes relationships or potential relationships between threat intelligence records based on predefined rules.

In the Related Records section, relationships are listed in the object details view and Potential relationships are listed separately.

The following list describes relationships and potential relationships.

  • Relationships: Relates two observables or an observable and STIX Domain Object (SDO).
  • Potential relationships: Establish potentially possible relationships between two SDOs, two observables, or an observable and SDO by using automated correlation.

Important: Automated correlation is disabled by default. Set sn_sec_tisc.disable_correlation_rules to true to enable it. For more information, see Components installed with Threat Intelligence Security Center.

Correlation rule considerations

  • The correlation rules that generate potential relationships are disabled by default. To enable these rules, see Configure correlation rules.
  • Each potential relationship table has a default limit of 1,000,000 records for each domain. This is done to maintain optimal instance performance while managing threat intelligence data volume.
  • The following observables must be of malicious or suspicious reputation for the correlation rule to trigger: Artifact, Domain Name, File, IPv4 address, IPv6 address, MD5 Hash, SHA1 Hash, SHA256 Hash, SHA512 Hash, and URL.

Note: The following rules are deprecated:

  • Relate Indicators with Objects Based on Common Observables
  • Relate Observables Based on Communication
Name Description Action Default status
File Hash Linkage Links files, artifacts, and hash observables that share the same hash values so that you can identify variants and copies of known malicious files. Creates a relationship Enabled
URL Domain Grouping Groups URL observables that share the same domain and path, regardless of protocol, port number, or query parameters. Creates a potential relationship Disabled
Network Source Attribution Links network observables to the domain and IP address (IPv4 and IPv6) observables that are the source of the traffic. Creates a relationship Enabled
Network Destination Attribution Links network observables to the domain and IP address (IPv4 and IPv6) observables that are the destination of the traffic. Creates a relationship Enabled
Communication Path Correlation Maps communication flows by relating the source and destination observables that are recorded in a network observable. Creates a potential relationship Disabled
Subdomain & Parent Domain Linking Relates a domain observable to its immediate parent domain and its direct subdomains. Creates a relationship Enabled
Domain-to-IP Resolution Mapping Connects domain observables to the IP addresses that they resolve to in DNS records. Creates a relationship Enabled
Certificate-Domain Association Associates SSL/TLS certificate observables with their corresponding domain names. Creates a relationship Enabled
  • Configure correlation rules
    Enable or disable the Correlation rules or customize them according to your business requirements.
  • Configure potential relationship table limits
    Configure the maximum potential relationship records that automated correlation can create. By default, each potential relationship table has a limit of 1,000,000 records for each domain.

Parent Topic:Threat Intel Library

Related topics

TISC Data Model

TISC Library Objects form view

TISC Library Repository

Access Vulnerability Downstream actions

Deleting threat intelligence library records

Export intelligence data

Confirm Potential Relationships from Related Records

Keywords automated correlationthreat intelligenceobservablesindicators
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