| name | mcp-usage-monitoring |
| description | Use this skill when asked to monitor, audit, or analyze MCP (Model Context Protocol) server usage in the environment. Triggers on keywords like "MCP usage", "MCP server monitoring", "MCP activity", "Graph MCP", "Sentinel MCP", "Azure MCP", "MCP audit", "tool usage monitoring", "MCP breakdown", "who is using MCP", or when investigating MCP user activity, Graph API calls from MCP servers, or workspace query governance. This skill provides comprehensive MCP server telemetry analysis across Graph MCP, Sentinel MCP, and Azure MCP servers including usage trends, endpoint access patterns, user attribution, cross-server user analysis, sensitive API detection, workspace query governance, and security risk assessment with inline and markdown file reporting. |
| threat_pulse_domains | ["admin"] |
| drill_down_prompt | Run MCP usage monitoring report — Graph/Sentinel/Azure MCP activity, user attribution |
MCP Server Usage Monitoring — Instructions
Purpose
This skill monitors and audits Model Context Protocol (MCP) server usage across your Microsoft Sentinel and Defender XDR environment. MCP servers are AI-powered tools that enable language models to interact with Microsoft security services — and like any privileged access channel, they require monitoring.
What this skill tracks:
| MCP Server | Telemetry Source | Key Identifier |
|---|
| Microsoft Graph MCP Server | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs | AppId = e8c77dc2-69b3-43f4-bc51-3213c9d915b4 |
| Sentinel Data Lake MCP | CloudAppEvents | RecordType 403, Interface = IMcpToolTemplate |
| Sentinel Triage MCP | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs + SigninLogs | AppId = 7b7b3966-1961-47b5-b080-43ca5482e21c ("Microsoft Defender Mcp") — dedicated AppId with full user attribution via delegated cert auth |
| Azure MCP Server | AzureActivity | No dedicated AppId — uses DefaultAzureCredential |
| Sentinel Data Lake — Direct KQL | CloudAppEvents | RecordType 379, Operation = KQLQueryCompleted |
| Workspace Query Sources (Analytics Tier) | LAQueryLogs | All clients querying Log Analytics workspace |
What this skill detects:
- Graph API call volume, trends, and endpoint diversity via MCP
- Sensitive/high-risk Graph endpoint access (PIM, credentials, Identity Protection)
- Sentinel workspace query patterns by client application
- User vs. Service Principal attribution across all MCP channels
- Cross-server user analysis — identifies users with broadest MCP footprint (multiple server types, highest call volume)
- Azure ARM operations potentially originating from Azure MCP Server
- Non-MCP platform query sources for governance context (Sentinel Engine, Logic Apps)
- Sentinel Data Lake MCP tool usage — tool call breakdown (
query_lake, list_sentinel_workspaces, search_tables, etc.), success/failure rates, execution duration, tables accessed via CloudAppEvents (Purview unified audit)
- MCP-driven vs Direct KQL delineation — distinguishes Data Lake queries initiated via MCP tools (RecordType 403, Interface
IMcpToolTemplate) from direct KQL queries (RecordType 379) and Analytics tier queries (LAQueryLogs)
- Anomalous access patterns: new users, new endpoints, volume spikes, error surges
- MCP server usage as a proportion of total workspace activity
Extended landscape awareness: Beyond these four actively monitored MCP servers, Microsoft's MCP ecosystem includes 30+ additional servers (Copilot Studio built-in catalog, Power BI, Fabric RTI, Playwright, Security Copilot Agent Creation, and more). See Extended Microsoft MCP Server Landscape for the full catalog, telemetry surfaces, and monitoring expansion priorities.
📑 TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Critical Workflow Rules - Start here!
- Extended MCP Server Landscape - Full Microsoft MCP ecosystem catalog
- Output Modes - Inline chat vs. Markdown file
- Scalability & Token Management - Guidance for large environments
- Quick Start - 10-step investigation pattern
- MCP Usage Score Formula - Composite health & risk scoring
- Execution Workflow - Complete 7-phase process
- Sample KQL Queries - Validated query patterns
- Report Template - Output format specification
- Proactive Alerting — KQL Data Lake Jobs - Scheduled anomaly detection
- Known Pitfalls - Edge cases and false positives
- Error Handling - Troubleshooting guide
- SVG Dashboard Generation - Visual dashboard from completed report
⚠️ CRITICAL WORKFLOW RULES - READ FIRST ⚠️
Before starting ANY MCP usage monitoring analysis:
- ALWAYS enforce Sentinel workspace selection (see Workspace Selection section below)
- ALWAYS ask the user for output mode if not specified: inline chat summary or markdown file report (or both)
- ALWAYS ask the user for time range if not specified: default to 30 days, configurable
- ALWAYS query all MCP telemetry surfaces — do not skip any MCP server type
- ALWAYS include non-MCP workspace context (Sentinel Engine, Logic Apps) for governance proportion analysis
- ALWAYS run independent queries in parallel for performance
- ALWAYS attribute activity to specific users — never present anonymous aggregates
- NEVER conflate non-MCP platform activity with MCP activity — clearly label categories
- ALWAYS execute pre-authored queries from Sample KQL Queries EXACTLY as written — substitute only the time range parameter (e.g.,
ago(30d) → ago(90d)). These queries encode mitigations for schema pitfalls documented in Known Pitfalls. Writing equivalent queries from scratch is ❌ PROHIBITED
Known AppIds Reference
MCP Servers & AI Agents
| AppId | Service | Telemetry Table | Notes |
|---|
e8c77dc2-69b3-43f4-bc51-3213c9d915b4 | Microsoft Graph MCP Server for Enterprise | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs | Read-only Graph API proxy |
7b7b3966-1961-47b5-b080-43ca5482e21c | Sentinel Triage MCP ("Microsoft Defender Mcp") | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs, SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs | Microsoft first-party AppId, same across all tenants. Dedicated AppId — visible in MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs (API calls to /security/* endpoints) and SigninLogs/AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs (AppDisplayName = "Microsoft Defender Mcp"). Delegated auth with certificate (ClientAuthMethod=2), full user attribution. Scopes: SecurityAlert.Read.All, SecurityIncident.Read.All, ThreatHunting.Read.All. Target resources: Microsoft Graph, WindowsDefenderATP. No local SPN — display name only visible in SigninLogs. 🔴 Confirmed Feb 2026: Empirical telemetry investigation identified 7b7b3966 as the Triage MCP AppId via MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs + SigninLogs correlation. |
253895df-6bd8-4eaf-b101-1381ec4306eb | Sentinel Platform Services App Reg | SigninLogs | Sentinel-hosted MCP platform |
04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46 | Azure MCP Server (local stdio via DefaultAzureCredential → Azure CLI) | SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs, LAQueryLogs | Shared AppId with Azure CLI. In LAQueryLogs, RequestClientApp is empty (not a unique fingerprint). Azure MCP appends \n| limit N to query text — the only query-level differentiator. Read-only ARM ops don't appear in AzureActivity. 🔄 Updated Feb 2026: Previously documented as AppId 1950a258 (AzurePowerShellCredential) with csharpsdk,LogAnalyticsPSClient — that fingerprint is obsolete; only 1 occurrence found in 30-day lookback. |
| (none — uses DefaultAzureCredential) | Azure MCP Server (local stdio) | AzureActivity | ARM write operations only; read ops not logged. Claims.appid = 04b07795. Inherits cred from Azure CLI/VS Code |
| (no AppId — Purview unified audit) | Sentinel Data Lake MCP | CloudAppEvents | RecordType 403; Interface IMcpToolTemplate; tools: query_lake, list_sentinel_workspaces, search_tables |
Sentinel MCP Collection Endpoints
| Endpoint URL | Collection | Monitored |
|---|
https://sentinel.microsoft.com/mcp/data-exploration | Data Exploration (Data Lake MCP) | ✅ Phase 3 |
https://sentinel.microsoft.com/mcp/triage | Triage (Triage MCP) | ✅ Phase 2 |
https://sentinel.microsoft.com/mcp/security-copilot-agent-creation | Security Copilot Agent Creation | ❌ See Landscape |
Client Applications
| AppId | Service | Telemetry Table | Notes |
|---|
aebc6443-996d-45c2-90f0-388ff96faa56 | Visual Studio Code | SigninLogs | VS Code as MCP client → Sentinel |
9ba5f2e4-6bbf-4df2-b19b-7f1bcb926818 | PowerPlatform-sentinelmcp-Connector | SigninLogs | Copilot Studio → Sentinel MCP |
04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46 | Azure CLI (DefaultAzureCredential) | SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs, LAQueryLogs | Primary Azure MCP Server credential path (field-tested Feb 2026). RequestClientApp is empty in LAQueryLogs. Azure MCP appends \n| limit N to query text. Shared AppId with manual az CLI — disambiguate via query text pattern or session correlation. 🔄 Previously documented as 1950a258 (AzurePowerShellCredential) — that path is obsolete |
Portal & Platform Applications (Non-MCP — for context)
| AppId | Service | Telemetry Table | Notes |
|---|
80ccca67-54bd-44ab-8625-4b79c4dc7775 | M365 Security & Compliance Center (Sentinel Portal) | LAQueryLogs | ASI_Portal, ASI_Portal_Connectors — Sentinel Portal backend, NOT an MCP server |
95a5d94c-a1a0-40eb-ac6d-48c5bdee96d5 | Azure Portal — AppInsightsPortalExtension | LAQueryLogs | Azure Portal blade for Log Analytics Usage dashboards/workbooks. RequestClientApp = AppInsightsPortalExtension. Executes billing/usage queries (e.g., Usage | where IsBillable). NOT MCP, NOT VS Code — runs when user opens Workspace Usage Dashboard in browser. No SPN or app registration in tenant (platform-level first-party app). Not in merill/microsoft-info known apps list. |
de8c33bb-995b-4d4a-9d04-8d8af5d59601 | PowerPlatform-AzureMonitorLogs-Connector | AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs, LAQueryLogs | Logic Apps → Log Analytics (NOT MCP) |
fc780465-2017-40d4-a0c5-307022471b92 | Sentinel Engine (analytics rules, UEBA, Advanced Hunting backend) | LAQueryLogs | Built-in scheduled query engine (NOT MCP). Also serves as the execution backend for Advanced Hunting — RequestClientApp = "M365D_AdvancedHunting" indicates AH queries from Triage MCP, Defender portal, or Security Copilot that hit connected LA tables (see Query 7). Separate from analytics rules (RequestClientApp empty or other values). |
Extended Microsoft MCP Server Landscape (Reference)
Beyond the four MCP servers actively monitored by this skill, Microsoft's MCP ecosystem includes many additional servers. This section catalogs them for awareness, threat modeling, and future monitoring expansion.
Sentinel MCP Collections (Microsoft-Hosted)
Microsoft Sentinel exposes three official MCP collections, each at a distinct endpoint:
| Collection | Endpoint URL | Purpose | Monitored by This Skill |
|---|
| Data Exploration | https://sentinel.microsoft.com/mcp/data-exploration | query_lake, search_tables, list_sentinel_workspaces, entity analyzer | ✅ Phase 3 (CloudAppEvents) |
| Triage | https://sentinel.microsoft.com/mcp/triage | Incident triage, Advanced Hunting, entity investigation | ✅ Phase 2 (MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs + SigninLogs — AppId 7b7b3966) |
| Security Copilot Agent Creation | https://sentinel.microsoft.com/mcp/security-copilot-agent-creation | Create Microsoft Security Copilot agents for complex workflows | ❌ Not yet monitored |
Sentinel Custom MCP Tools: Organizations can create their own MCP tools by exposing saved KQL queries from Advanced Hunting as MCP tools. These execute through the same Sentinel MCP infrastructure and are audited in CloudAppEvents (RecordType 403) alongside built-in tools. See Create custom Sentinel MCP tools.
🔵 Monitoring note: Custom MCP tools appear in CloudAppEvents with the same RecordType 403 and IMcpToolTemplate interface as built-in tools. The ToolName field will show the custom tool name, making them visible in Query 13 without modification.
Power BI MCP Servers
| Server | Type | Endpoint / Repo | Purpose | Telemetry Surface |
|---|
| Power BI Remote MCP | Microsoft-hosted | https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/mcp/powerbi | Query Power BI datasets, reports, and workspaces remotely via SSE transport | 🟡 PowerBIActivity table (if ingested into Sentinel), Fabric audit logs |
| Power BI Modeling MCP | Local (stdio) | microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcp | Local Power BI model operations (DAX queries, schema exploration) | ❌ Local only — no Azure telemetry |
⚠️ Data exfiltration risk: Power BI Remote MCP provides API-based access to organizational datasets. If an AI agent connects to this endpoint, it can query sensitive business data. Monitor PowerBIActivity for unusual access patterns if this table is available in your Sentinel workspace.
Fabric & Azure Data Explorer MCP Servers
| Server | Type | Endpoint / Repo | Purpose | Telemetry Surface |
|---|
| Fabric RTI MCP Server | Local (stdio) | microsoft/fabric-rti-mcp | Query Azure Data Explorer clusters and Fabric Real-Time Intelligence Eventhouses via KQL | 🟡 ADX audit logs, Fabric audit events |
| Azure MCP Server — Kusto namespace | Local (stdio) | Part of Azure MCP Server (azmcp --namespace kusto) | Manage ADX clusters, databases, tables, and queries via ARM | ✅ Already covered (Azure ARM operations — Phase 4) |
| Kusto Query MCP | Copilot Studio built-in | Copilot Studio catalog | KQL query execution from Copilot Studio agents | 🟡 CloudAppEvents (Copilot Studio workload) |
🔵 Note: The Fabric RTI MCP Server is open-source and runs locally. It authenticates to ADX/Eventhouse using the user's credentials. If your org uses ADX, queries from this MCP would appear in ADX audit logs (.show queries / diagnostic logs), NOT in Sentinel LAQueryLogs.
Developer & Productivity MCP Servers
| Server | Type | Repo | Purpose | Telemetry Surface |
|---|
| Playwright MCP | Local (stdio) | microsoft/playwright-mcp (26.9k ⭐) | Browser automation via accessibility tree — enables LLMs to interact with web pages | ❌ Local only — no Azure telemetry |
| GitHub MCP Server | Local (stdio) | github/github-mcp-server | GitHub repo operations (issues, PRs, code search) via PAT | ❌ GitHub audit logs only, not in Sentinel |
| Microsoft Learn Docs MCP | Cloud-hosted | Certified Copilot Studio connector | Search and fetch official Microsoft Learn documentation | ❌ Public docs, no security data |
Copilot Studio Built-in MCP Servers (19+ servers)
Microsoft Copilot Studio provides a catalog of built-in MCP servers for agent development. These are Microsoft-managed, cloud-hosted servers that agents can connect to.
Source: Built-in MCP servers catalog
| Category | MCP Servers | Security Relevance |
|---|
| Microsoft 365 | Outlook Mail, Outlook Calendar, 365 User Profile, Teams, Word, 365 Copilot (Search) | 🔴 High — email, calendar, user profile access |
| SharePoint & OneDrive | SharePoint and OneDrive, SharePoint Lists | 🟠 Medium — file and data access |
| Administration | 365 Admin Center | 🔴 High — administrative control plane |
| Dataverse | Dataverse MCP | 🟠 Medium — business data access |
| Dynamics 365 | Sales, Finance, Supply Chain, Service, ERP, Contact Center (6 sub-variants) | 🟡 Low-Medium — business application data |
| Fabric | Fabric MCP | 🟠 Medium — analytics data access |
| Office 365 Outlook | Contact Management, Email Management, Meeting Management | 🔴 High — email and contact data |
| Meta-Server | MCP Management MCP | 🟠 Medium — manages other MCP servers via Dataverse/Graph |
⚠️ Telemetry gap: Copilot Studio built-in MCP servers are NOT directly visible in LAQueryLogs or MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs. Their activity may appear in:
CloudAppEvents — under Copilot Studio workload (if Purview unified audit is configured)- M365 unified audit log — as Copilot Studio agent actions
AuditLogs — service principal lifecycle events (creation, modification)AADServicePrincipalSignInLogs — SPN sign-ins to Bot Framework from Azure internal IPs (fd00:*)
To monitor Copilot Studio agent activity, use the ai-agent-posture skill for comprehensive agent security auditing.
Azure MCP Server — Full Tool Surface
The Azure MCP Server (already tracked in Phase 4) has a much broader tool surface than just ARM operations. The complete namespace catalog:
| Category | Namespaces | Security-Relevant Tools |
|---|
| AI & ML | foundry, search, speech | AI Foundry model access, Search index queries |
| Identity | role | ⚠️ RBAC role assignments — view and manage |
| Security | keyvault, appconfig, confidentialledger | 🔴 Key Vault secrets/keys/certs, App Configuration |
| Databases | cosmos, mysql, postgres, redis, sql | Database access and management |
| Storage | storage, fileshares, storagesync, managedlustre | Blob, file, and storage account access |
| Compute | appservice, functionapp, aks | App Service, Functions, Kubernetes |
| Networking | eventhubs, servicebus, eventgrid, communication, signalr | Messaging and event services |
| DevOps | bicepschema, deploy, monitor, workbooks, grafana | Infrastructure deployment, monitoring |
| Governance | policy, quota, resourcehealth, cloudarchitect | Policy management, resource health |
| Other | marketplace, virtualdesktop, loadtesting, acr | VDI, container registry, load testing |
🔵 Key Vault access via MCP is particularly security-sensitive. The Azure MCP Server implements elicitation (user confirmation prompts) before returning secrets. However, this can be bypassed with the --insecure-disable-user-confirmation flag. Monitor AzureActivity for Key Vault operations correlated with MCP usage patterns.
Monitoring Expansion Priorities
If expanding this skill's coverage, prioritize based on data access risk:
| Priority | Server | Why | How to Monitor |
|---|
| 🔴 P1 | Copilot Studio built-in M365 MCPs | Email, Teams, admin center access | ai-agent-posture skill + CloudAppEvents |
| 🔴 P1 | Security Copilot Agent Creation | Creates autonomous security agents | CloudAppEvents for agent creation events |
| 🟠 P2 | Power BI Remote MCP | Dataset query access via API | PowerBIActivity table if available |
| 🟠 P2 | Sentinel Custom MCP Tools | User-defined tools, same audit surface | Already visible in Phase 3 CloudAppEvents |
| 🟡 P3 | Fabric RTI MCP | ADX/Eventhouse data access | ADX diagnostic logs |
| 🟡 P3 | Kusto Query MCP (Copilot Studio) | KQL from Copilot Studio agents | CloudAppEvents (Copilot Studio workload) |
| ⚪ P4 | Playwright, GitHub, Learn Docs MCPs | Local/public, minimal telemetry | Not monitorable from Sentinel |
Note: This catalog reflects the Microsoft MCP ecosystem as of February 2026. The Copilot Studio MCP catalog notes: "This list isn't exhaustive. New MCP connectors are added regularly."
⛔ MANDATORY: Sentinel Workspace Selection
This skill requires a Sentinel workspace to execute queries. Follow these rules STRICTLY:
When invoked from another skill (e.g., incident-investigation):
- Inherit the workspace selection from the parent investigation context
- If no workspace was selected in parent context: STOP and ask user to select
When invoked standalone (direct user request):
- ALWAYS call
list_sentinel_workspaces MCP tool FIRST
- If 1 workspace exists: Auto-select, display to user, proceed
- If multiple workspaces exist:
- Display all workspaces with Name and ID
- ASK: "Which Sentinel workspace should I use for this analysis?"
- ⛔ STOP AND WAIT for user response
- ⛔ DO NOT proceed until user explicitly selects
- If a query fails on the selected workspace:
- ⛔ DO NOT automatically try another workspace
- STOP and report the error, display available workspaces, ASK user to select
🔴 PROHIBITED ACTIONS:
- ❌ Selecting a workspace without user consent when multiple exist
- ❌ Switching to another workspace after a failure without asking
- ❌ Proceeding with analysis if workspace selection is ambiguous
Output Modes
This skill supports two output modes. ASK the user which they prefer if not explicitly specified. Both may be selected.
Mode 1: Inline Chat Summary (Default)
- Render the full MCP usage analysis directly in the chat response
- Includes ASCII tables, trend charts, endpoint breakdowns, and security assessment
- Best for quick review and interactive follow-up questions
Mode 2: Markdown File Report
- Save a comprehensive report to
reports/mcp-usage/MCP_Usage_Report_<timestamp>.md
- All ASCII visualizations render correctly inside markdown code fences (
```)
- Includes all data from inline mode plus additional detail sections
- Use
create_file tool — NEVER use terminal commands for file output
- Filename pattern:
reports/mcp-usage/MCP_Usage_Report_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.md
Markdown Rendering Notes
- ✅ ASCII tables, box-drawing characters, and bar charts render perfectly in markdown code blocks
- ✅ Unicode block characters (▓░█) display correctly in monospaced fonts
- ✅ Emoji indicators (🔴🟢🟡⚠️✅) render natively in GitHub-flavored markdown
- ✅ Standard markdown tables (
| col |) render as formatted tables
- Tip: Wrap all ASCII art in triple-backtick code fences for consistent rendering
Scalability & Token Management
This skill was developed in a small lab environment (1–2 users, single workspace). In larger tenants with many users, MCP servers, and higher query volumes, the query complexity is not a concern — all queries use summarize, dcount, make_set(..., N), and take operators, so result sets remain bounded regardless of raw table size. Execution time will increase but output shape stays the same.
The primary risk in large environments is LLM token exhaustion during report generation. All query results accumulate in conversation context before the report is written, and this skill file itself consumes significant context. In a large tenant, richer result sets (more users, endpoints, error categories, AppIds) can push past token limits before the report is complete.
Guardrails for Large Environments
1. Tighten result set limits in queries:
| Parameter | Small Env (default) | Large Env |
|---|
make_set(..., N) for users | 10 | 5 |
make_set(..., N) for endpoints | 20–30 | 10 |
make_set(..., N) for errors | 5 | 3 |
take on governance tables | 25 | 15 |
take on endpoint rankings | 25 | 15 |
take on error analysis | 50 | 20 |
2. Incremental file writes (markdown mode):
Instead of composing the entire report in memory and writing it in one create_file call:
- Write the report header and executive summary first with
create_file
- Append each section (Graph MCP, Sentinel Triage, Data Lake, etc.) using
replace_string_in_file to insert content at the end of the file
- This allows earlier query results to fall out of active context after being written
3. Two-pass approach for very large tenants:
- Pass 1 (Summary): Run all queries with aggressive limits (
take 10, make_set(..., 3)). Generate a summary report with top-level numbers only.
- Pass 2 (Drill-down): If the user wants detail on a specific section (e.g., "show me the full Data Lake error breakdown"), run targeted queries for that section only.
4. Parallel query batching:
Phases 1–5 contain independent queries — always run them in parallel. But avoid running all ~16 queries simultaneously; batch them into 2–3 groups of 5–6 queries. This balances throughput against context accumulation.
5. Omit raw query appendix for large reports:
The "Appendix: Query Details" section listing every KQL query used can be omitted in large environments to save tokens. The queries are documented in this skill file and don't need to be repeated in the report.
Indicators You're Hitting Token Limits
- Report generation starts but cuts off mid-section
- The agent switches to a new conversation turn unexpectedly during report writing
- Sections become progressively less detailed toward the end of the report
- The agent summarizes findings in chat instead of writing the full markdown file
If any of these occur, ask the agent to: "Continue writing the report from where you left off" — the incremental file write approach ensures partial progress is saved.
Quick Start (TL;DR)
When a user requests MCP usage monitoring:
- Select Workspace →
list_sentinel_workspaces, auto-select or ask
- Determine Output Mode → Ask if not specified: inline, markdown file, or both
- Determine Time Range → Ask if not specified; default 30 days
- Run Phase 1 (Graph MCP) → Daily usage summary, top endpoints, sensitive API access
- Run Phase 2 (Sentinel Triage MCP) → API calls via AppId
7b7b3966, auth events, AH downstream queries
- Run Phase 3 (Sentinel Data Lake MCP) → CloudAppEvents tool usage, error analysis, MCP vs Direct KQL
- Run Phase 4 (Azure MCP & ARM) → ARM operations, resource provider breakdown
- Run Phase 5 (Workspace Governance) → All query sources (Analytics + Data Lake tiers), MCP proportion
- Run Phase 6 (Cross-Server User Analysis) → Top MCP users by server breadth, power user identification
- Run Phase 7 (Assessment) → Compute MCP Usage Score, security assessment, render report
Parallel execution: Phases 1-5 contain independent queries — run all of them in parallel for performance. Phases 6-7 depend on results from 1-5.
MCP Usage Score Formula
The MCP Usage Score is a composite health and risk indicator that summarizes MCP server activity. Unlike the Drift Score (which is a ratio), this is an absolute assessment based on multiple dimensions.
Scoring Dimensions
$$
\text{MCPUsageScore} = \sum_{i} \text{DimensionScore}_i
$$
Each dimension contributes 0–20 points to a maximum of 100:
| Dimension | Max Points | Green (0-5) | Yellow (6-12) | Red (13-20) |
|---|
| User Diversity | 20 | 1-2 known users | 3-5 users or 1 unknown | >5 users or unknown users |
| Endpoint Sensitivity | 20 | 0% sensitive endpoints | 1-30% sensitive | >30% calls to sensitive APIs |
| Error Rate | 20 | <1% errors | 1-5% errors | >5% errors |
| Volume Anomaly | 20 | Within ±50% of daily avg | 50-200% spike | >200% spike vs avg |
| Off-Hours Activity | 20 | <5% off-hours | 5-20% off-hours | >20% calls outside business hours |
Interpretation Scale
| Score | Meaning | Action |
|---|
| 0–25 | Healthy | ✅ Normal MCP usage, no concerns |
| 26–50 | Elevated | 🟡 Review — minor anomalies detected |
| 51–75 | Concerning | 🟠 Investigate — multiple risk signals present |
| 76–100 | Critical | 🔴 Immediate review — significant security risk |
Sensitivity Classification
Sensitive Graph API endpoints — flag any MCP calls to these patterns:
roleManagement, roleAssignments, roleEligibility,
authentication/methods, identityProtection, riskyUsers,
riskDetections, conditionalAccess, servicePrincipals,
appRoleAssignments, oauth2PermissionGrants,
auditLogs, directoryRoles, privilegedAccess,
security/alerts, security/incidents
Off-Hours Definition
Business hours: 08:00–18:00 local time (derive from user's primary sign-in timezone, or use UTC if unknown). Weekends count as off-hours for all 24 hours.
Execution Workflow
Phase 1: Graph MCP Server Analysis
Data source: MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs
Filter: AppId == "e8c77dc2-69b3-43f4-bc51-3213c9d915b4"
Collect:
- Execute Query 1 (Unified Daily MCP Activity Trend) via
RunAdvancedHuntingQuery — returns daily Server | Day | Calls | Errors | ErrorRate for ALL 4 MCP servers in one pass. Run this ONCE here; do NOT re-run in Phases 2–4. Feeds the SVG dashboard Row 5 line chart and volume anomaly detection.
- Execute Query 2 (Endpoint & Activity Summary) via
RunAdvancedHuntingQuery — returns per-endpoint rows with call counts, sensitivity flag, off-hours metrics, error rates, and user sets. Replaces former Q2 + Q3 + Q11. Derive: top endpoints (order by CallCount), sensitive APIs (where IsSensitive), off-hours % (sum(OffHoursCalls)/sum(CallCount)).
Phase 2: Sentinel Triage MCP Analysis
Data sources: MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs, SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs
Filter: AppId = 7b7b3966-1961-47b5-b080-43ca5482e21c ("Microsoft Defender Mcp")
Detection Method (Confirmed Feb 2026):
The Sentinel Triage MCP has a dedicated AppId (7b7b3966-1961-47b5-b080-43ca5482e21c) that appears in both MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs and SigninLogs/AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs. This enables definitive attribution of Triage MCP calls — no heuristics or shared-surface estimation needed.
Key characteristics:
- AppDisplayName: "Microsoft Defender Mcp" (visible in SigninLogs)
- Auth type: Delegated + certificate (ClientAuthMethod=2) — user identity always available
- Scopes:
SecurityAlert.Read.All, SecurityIncident.Read.All, ThreatHunting.Read.All
- Target resources: Microsoft Graph, WindowsDefenderATP
- API endpoints: POST
/v1.0/security/runHuntingQuery/, GET /security/incidents/, GET /security/alerts_v2/
- No local SPN: Microsoft first-party app — display name only visible in SigninLogs, not in Graph API SPN lookup
🔵 MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs retention varies by environment (depends on Log Analytics workspace configuration and diagnostic settings). Do not assume a fixed retention period — check with a baseline row count query first.
Collect:
- Execute Query 3 to get authentication events by client app (VS Code, Copilot Studio, browser) with user, IP, OS, country
- Execute Query 4 to get client app usage breakdown with distinct user counts and last-seen timestamps
- Execute Query 5 to get Triage MCP API usage from
MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs — filter by AppId 7b7b3966 for exact Triage MCP calls with endpoint/method/user breakdown
- Execute Query 6 to get Triage MCP authentication events from
SigninLogs/AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs — sign-in frequency, user attribution, IP, OS, country
- Execute Query 7 to get LAQueryLogs for Advanced Hunting downstream queries via
fc780465 / M365D_AdvancedHunting. Captures queries from any RunAdvancedHuntingQuery consumer (Triage MCP, Defender portal, Security Copilot) that hit connected LA tables. XDR-native tables (DeviceEvents, EmailEvents) don't appear here.
Phase 3: Sentinel Data Lake MCP Analysis
Data source: CloudAppEvents (Purview unified audit log)
Execution tool: RunAdvancedHuntingQuery preferred (30-day lookback, free for Analytics-tier tables). CloudAppEvents uses Timestamp in AH (not TimeGenerated). Fall back to mcp_sentinel-data_query_lake (uses TimeGenerated, 90d retention) only if lookback > 30 days or AH returns errors.
Filter: ActionType contains "Sentinel" or ActionType contains "KQL". RecordType is inside RawEventData (not a top-level column) — extract with parse_json(tostring(RawEventData)).RecordType. RecordType 403 = MCP tools, 379 = Direct KQL.
⚠️ MANDATORY: Execute Query 10 against query_lake before reporting any gap. If the query returns 0 results or table-not-found, THEN report the gap. Do NOT skip this phase based on assumptions about E5 licensing or Purview configuration — the table may be populated even without explicit Purview setup.
Audit Path: Sentinel Data Lake MCP tools are NOT audited via LAQueryLogs — they are tracked through Purview unified audit log, surfaced in the CloudAppEvents table. RecordType 403 (inside RawEventData) = Sentinel AI Tool activities, RecordType 379 = KQL activities.
MCP vs Direct KQL Delineation:
| Access Pattern | RecordType | Interface | Operation | What It Represents |
|---|
| MCP Server-driven | 403 | IMcpToolTemplate | SentinelAIToolRunStarted, SentinelAIToolRunCompleted | Tool calls via Sentinel Data Lake MCP (e.g., query_lake, list_sentinel_workspaces, search_tables) |
| Direct KQL | 379 | Microsoft.SentinelGraph.AIPrimitives.Core.Services.KqsService | KQLQueryCompleted | KQL queries executed directly via Sentinel Graph / Data Lake Explorer (no MCP intermediary) |
⚠️ Known Limitation (Discovered Mar 2026): RecordType 403 (SentinelAIToolRunCompleted / IMcpToolTemplate) may not be emitted by the Data Lake MCP server. In verified testing, all Data Lake MCP tool calls (query_lake, search_tables) appeared as RecordType 379 with Interface = "InterfaceNotProvided" — NOT as RecordType 403. When RecordType 403 returns 0 results:
- Do NOT report "0 MCP activity" — the audit pipeline has a gap, not the usage.
- Fallback: Use Interface breakdown within RecordType 379.
InterfaceNotProvided contains MCP-driven queries. Cross-reference users in InterfaceNotProvided with known Sentinel MCP users from Q4/Q6 (SigninLogs). Known portal interfaces: msglakeexplorer@msec-msg (Portal Data Lake Explorer), msgjobmanagement@msec-msg (scheduled jobs), ipykernel_launcher.py (Jupyter), PowerBIConnector (Power BI), Microsoft.Medeina.Server (Security Copilot).
- Report as "Probable MCP" — clearly note the attribution is based on proxy signal (user overlap), not definitive RecordType 403 classification.
Key RawEventData Fields:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|
ToolName | MCP tool invoked | query_lake, list_sentinel_workspaces, search_tables, analyze_url_entity |
Interface | Execution interface — distinguishes MCP from direct | IMcpToolTemplate (MCP) vs KqsService (direct) |
ExecutionDuration | Duration in seconds (as string) | "2.4731712" |
FailureReason | Error message if failed | "SemanticError: 'DeviceDetail' column does not exist" |
TablesRead | Tables accessed by the query | "SigninLogs" |
DatabasesRead | Log Analytics workspace name | "la-yourworkspace" |
TotalRows | Rows returned | 100 |
InputParameters | Full tool input including KQL query text and workspaceId | JSON string with query and workspaceId keys |
Collect:
- Execute Query 10 to get Data Lake MCP access pattern summary (tool/table/workspace inventory with MCP vs Direct KQL delineation)
- Execute Query 11 to get tool-level breakdown with call counts and avg execution duration
- Execute Query 12 to get error analysis for failed Data Lake MCP tool calls
Phase 4: Azure MCP Server Authentication & Queries
Data sources: SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs, LAQueryLogs
Filter: AppId = 04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46 (sign-in logs, LAQueryLogs)
Collect:
- Execute Query 13 to get Azure MCP Server authentication events from SigninLogs/AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs — filter by AppId
04b07795 (Azure CLI credential, field-tested Feb 2026). 🔄 Previously documented as AppId 1950a258 (AzurePowerShellCredential) — that path is obsolete.
- Execute Query 14 to get Azure MCP Server workspace queries from LAQueryLogs — filter by AADClientId
04b07795. RequestClientApp is empty (not a unique fingerprint). Azure MCP appends \n| limit N to query text — use query text pattern as differentiator.
Detection Method (🔄 Updated Feb 2026):
The Azure MCP Server runs as a local .NET process (stdio mode) and authenticates via DefaultAzureCredential. Field-tested Feb 2026: The credential chain now resolves to Azure CLI credential (04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46), NOT AzurePowerShellCredential (1950a258) as previously documented.
Previous fingerprint (OBSOLETE): AppId 1950a258 + RequestClientApp = csharpsdk,LogAnalyticsPSClient. Only 1 occurrence found in 30-day lookback. The Azure MCP Server SDK path has changed.
Current fingerprint (field-tested Feb 2026):
| Signal | Azure MCP Server (Current) | Azure CLI (Manual) | Notes |
|---|
| AppId (SigninLogs) | 04b07795 | 04b07795 | Shared — not a unique differentiator |
| AADClientId (LAQueryLogs) | 04b07795 | 04b07795 | Shared |
| RequestClientApp (LAQueryLogs) | Empty ("") | Empty ("") | Shared — not a unique differentiator. Empty RequestClientApp is also used by 4+ other AADClientIds |
| Query text pattern (LAQueryLogs) | Appends \n| limit N to all queries | No standard suffix | ✅ Best differentiator — Azure MCP monitor_workspace_log_query always appends a limit operator |
| AzureActivity (Claims.appid) | 04b07795 (write ops only) | 04b07795 | Shared; read ops not logged. Use Q14 HasLimitSuffix for query-level differentiation |
🚨 Key change from previous documentation:
- ❌
RequestClientApp = "csharpsdk,LogAnalyticsPSClient" — OBSOLETE, no longer produced by Azure MCP Server
- ❌ AppId
1950a258 (AzurePowerShellCredential) — OBSOLETE credential path
- ✅ AppId
04b07795 (Azure CLI) — current credential path
- ✅
RequestClientApp is empty — shared with Azure CLI and other tools
- ✅ Query text containing
\n| limit — most reliable query-level differentiator
Disambiguation challenges:
- Azure MCP Server queries are difficult to isolate from manual Azure CLI queries in LAQueryLogs because both share the same AppId AND empty
RequestClientApp
- The
\n| limit N suffix appended by monitor_workspace_log_query is the best heuristic but is not guaranteed to be unique
- In SigninLogs, UserAgent containing
azsdk-net-Identity with OS Microsoft Windows may still help if the credential chain includes Azure Identity SDK components
- Consider correlating query timing with known MCP session activity for attribution
Authentication Sequence Observed (Current):
- Azure MCP Server acquires token via Azure CLI cached credential
- Token is reused for subsequent operations within its lifetime
- If MFA claim is missing → interactive browser prompt (rare with CLI credential)
- Subsequent calls reuse the cached token until expiry
🔴 Token Caching Behavior (Field-Tested Feb 2026):
- Sign-in events appear at token acquisition time, NOT at each individual API call time
- Once a token is cached, subsequent Azure MCP calls (list resources, get configs, etc.) do NOT generate new sign-in events
- You will see 1-3 sign-in events per token lifecycle, not one per API call
- To count actual API calls, correlate with AzureActivity (write ops) or LAQueryLogs (
monitor_workspace_log_query calls)
- The ~1hr token lifetime means at most ~24 sign-in event clusters per day of continuous use
AzureActivity visibility: Only ARM write/action/delete operations appear in AzureActivity (Administrative category). Azure MCP Server read-only operations (list subscriptions, list resource groups, list clusters) do NOT appear. Claims.appid = 04b07795 when write operations do occur.
Note: Azure MCP Server is difficult to isolate from manual Azure CLI usage because they share the same AppId and both produce empty RequestClientApp. The \n| limit N query text suffix is the best heuristic for LAQueryLogs. In SigninLogs, the shared AppId means Azure MCP authenticated as Azure CLI — there is no unique sign-in fingerprint. Present findings as "Azure MCP Server / Azure CLI (shared AppId 04b07795)" in reports.
Phase 5: Workspace Query Governance
Data source: LAQueryLogs (Analytics tier), CloudAppEvents (Data Lake tier)
Filter: All AADClientIds (LAQueryLogs), All Sentinel operations (CloudAppEvents)
Collect:
- Execute Query 8 to get all clients querying the Analytics tier workspace with query counts, user counts, CPU usage
- Data Lake tier query volume from Phase 3 results (Queries 10-12)
- MCP proportion calculation: combined MCP query volume (Analytics + Data Lake tiers) / total query volume
Phase 6: Cross-Server User Analysis
Data sources: MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs, CloudAppEvents, SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs
Collect:
- Execute Query 9 to get Graph MCP caller attribution — User vs SPN breakdown
- Execute Query 15 to get top MCP users ranked by cross-server breadth — identifies which users span the most MCP servers and their total call volume
Note: Query 15 joins user activity across all 4 MCP channels (Graph MCP, Triage MCP, Data Lake MCP, Azure CLI/MCP) and resolves UserIds to UPNs via SigninLogs. Data Lake MCP attribution uses InterfaceNotProvided proxy signal when RecordType 403 is unavailable.
Phase 7: Score Computation & Report Generation
- Compute per-dimension scores from Phase 1-6 data:
- User Diversity: Count distinct users across all MCP channels (use Query 15 cross-server results)
- Endpoint Sensitivity: % of Graph MCP calls to sensitive patterns (Phase 1 Query 2
IsSensitive column)
- Error Rate: % of non-2xx responses across all MCP channels
- Volume Anomaly: Compare most recent day vs rolling average (Phase 1 Query 1 daily data)
- Off-Hours Activity: % of MCP calls outside 08:00-18:00 (Phase 1 Query 2
OffHoursCalls column)
- Sum dimension scores for composite MCP Usage Score
- Include Top MCP Users table in report (Phase 6 — Query 15 cross-server results)
- Generate security assessment with emoji-coded findings
- Render output in the user's selected mode
- Validate report completeness — after composing the report, run the Report Completeness Checklist below. Cross-check every required section against the template before saving/presenting. Fix any missing sections before finalizing.
Sample KQL Queries
🔴 MANDATORY: Execute these queries EXACTLY as written. Substitute only the time range parameter (e.g., ago(30d) → ago(90d)) and entity-specific values where indicated. These queries are schema-verified and encode mitigations for pitfalls documented in Known Pitfalls. Rewriting, paraphrasing, or constructing "equivalent" queries from scratch risks hitting the exact schema issues these queries were designed to avoid.
| Action | Status |
|---|
| Rewriting a pre-authored query from scratch | ❌ PROHIBITED |
Removing parse_json() / tostring() wrappers from queries | ❌ PROHIBITED |
| Substituting column names without schema verification | ❌ PROHIBITED |
Using has instead of contains for CamelCase fields | ❌ PROHIBITED |
| Executing a query not from this section without completing the Pre-Flight Checklist | ❌ PROHIBITED |
Query 1: Unified Daily MCP Activity Trend
Note: Consolidates former Q1 (Graph MCP daily), Q7d (Triage MCP daily), Q23 (Data Lake MCP daily), Q25a (Azure MCP daily) into a single union query.
Feeds: SVG dashboard Row 5 line chart (daily_mcp_trend) — all 4 series in one query.
Tool: mcp_sentinel-data_query_lake (union of SigninLogs + AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs fails in AH when AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs is on Data Lake tier — common in customer environments).
⚠️ Timestamp: All tables use TimeGenerated in Data Lake (unlike AH where CloudAppEvents uses Timestamp).
// Unified Daily MCP Activity Trend — all 4 MCP servers in one pass
// Configurable: replace 30d with desired lookback (max 30d for AH)
let lookback = 30d;
// --- Graph MCP (AppId e8c77dc2) ---
let graph_mcp = MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(lookback)
| where AppId == "e8c77dc2-69b3-43f4-bc51-3213c9d915b4"
| summarize Calls = count(),
Errors = countif(ResponseStatusCode >= 400)
by Day = bin(TimeGenerated, 1d)
| extend Server = "Graph MCP";
// --- Triage MCP (AppId 7b7b3966) ---
let triage_mcp = MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(lookback)
| where AppId == "7b7b3966-1961-47b5-b080-43ca5482e21c"
| summarize Calls = count(),
Errors = countif(ResponseStatusCode >= 400)
by Day = bin(TimeGenerated, 1d)
| extend Server = "Triage MCP";
// --- Data Lake MCP (CloudAppEvents RecordType 379 + InterfaceNotProvided) ---
let data_lake_mcp = CloudAppEvents
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(lookback)
| where ActionType contains "Sentinel" or ActionType contains "KQL"
| extend RawData = parse_json(tostring(RawEventData))
| extend RecordType = toint(RawData.RecordType),
Interface = tostring(RawData.Interface),
FailureReason = tostring(RawData.FailureReason)
| where RecordType == 379 and (Interface == "InterfaceNotProvided" or isempty(Interface))
| summarize Calls = count(),
Errors = countif(isnotempty(FailureReason) and FailureReason != "")
by Day = bin(TimeGenerated, 1d)
| extend Server = "Data Lake MCP";
// --- Azure MCP/CLI (AppId 04b07795 — shared with Azure CLI) ---
let azure_interactive = SigninLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(lookback)
| where AppId == "04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46"
| project TimeGenerated, ResultType;
let azure_noninteractive = AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(lookback)
| where AppId == "04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46"
| project TimeGenerated, ResultType;
let azure_mcp = union azure_interactive, azure_noninteractive
| summarize Calls = count(),
Errors = countif(ResultType != "0" and ResultType != "")
by Day = bin(TimeGenerated, 1d)
| extend Server = "Azure MCP/CLI";
// --- Union all servers ---
union graph_mcp, triage_mcp, data_lake_mcp, azure_mcp
| extend ErrorRate = iff(Calls > 0, round(100.0 * Errors / Calls, 1), 0.0)
| project Server, Day, Calls, Errors, ErrorRate
| order by Day asc, Server asc
Query 2: Graph MCP — Endpoint & Activity Summary
Replaces: former Q2 (Top Endpoints), Q3 (Sensitive API Access), Q11 (Off-Hours Activity).
Tool: RunAdvancedHuntingQuery
Report derivation: Top endpoints = all rows by CallCount desc. Sensitive endpoints = where IsSensitive. Off-hours % = sum(OffHoursCalls) / sum(CallCount) across all rows.
// Graph MCP — single-pass endpoint analysis with sensitivity + off-hours enrichment
let sensitive_patterns = dynamic([
"roleManagement", "roleAssignments", "roleEligibility",
"authentication/methods", "identityProtection", "riskyUsers",
"riskDetections", "conditionalAccess", "servicePrincipals",
"appRoleAssignments", "oauth2PermissionGrants",
"auditLogs", "directoryRoles", "privilegedAccess",
"security/alerts", "security/incidents"
]);
MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d)
| where AppId == "e8c77dc2-69b3-43f4-bc51-3213c9d915b4"
| extend Endpoint = tostring(split(RequestUri, "?")[0])
| extend HourOfDay = datetime_part("hour", TimeGenerated)
| extend DayOfWeek = dayofweek(TimeGenerated) / 1d
| extend IsOffHours = HourOfDay < 8 or HourOfDay >= 18 or DayOfWeek >= 5
| extend IsSensitive = RequestUri has_any (sensitive_patterns)
| summarize
CallCount = count(),
DistinctUsers = dcount(UserId),
ErrorCount = countif(ResponseStatusCode >= 400),
AvgDurationMs = round(avg(DurationMs), 0),
OffHoursCalls = countif(IsOffHours),
Methods = make_set(RequestMethod, 5),
Users = make_set(UserId, 10),
LastUsed = max(TimeGenerated)
by Endpoint, IsSensitive
| extend
ErrorRate = round(100.0 * ErrorCount / CallCount, 1),
OffHoursPct = round(100.0 * OffHoursCalls / CallCount, 1)
| order by CallCount desc
| take 50
Query 3: Sentinel MCP — Authentication Events
Tool: RunAdvancedHuntingQuery (30-day lookback, free for Analytics-tier tables). Fall back to mcp_sentinel-data_query_lake only if lookback > 30 days.
⚠️ Pitfall-aware: Uses parse_json(Status) and parse_json(DeviceDetail) wrappers — required for Data Lake (string columns) and safe in AH. Uses = syntax (not as) in project — see project as Keyword Fails in Advanced Hunting.
// Who is authenticating to Sentinel MCP (via VS Code, Copilot Studio, browser)
SigninLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d)
| where ResourceDisplayName =~ "Sentinel Platform Services"
| project TimeGenerated, UserPrincipalName, AppDisplayName, AppId,
ResourceDisplayName, IPAddress,
ErrorCode = tostring(parse_json(Status).errorCode),
ConditionalAccessStatus, AuthenticationRequirement, ClientAppUsed,
OS = tostring(parse_json(DeviceDetail).operatingSystem),
Country = tostring(parse_json(LocationDetails).countryOrRegion)
| order by TimeGenerated desc
Query 4: Sentinel MCP — Client App Breakdown
Tool: RunAdvancedHuntingQuery (30-day lookback, free for Analytics-tier tables).
// Which client apps (VS Code, Copilot Studio, browser) are accessing Sentinel MCP
SigninLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d)
| where ResourceDisplayName =~ "Sentinel Platform Services"
| summarize
SignInCount = count(),
DistinctUsers = dcount(UserPrincipalName),
Users = make_set(UserPrincipalName, 10),
LastSeen = max(TimeGenerated)
by AppDisplayName, AppId, ClientAppUsed
| order by SignInCount desc
Query 5: Sentinel Triage MCP — API Call Activity (Dedicated AppId)
// Measure Sentinel Triage MCP API calls via its dedicated AppId in MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs.
// AppId 7b7b3966 = "Microsoft Defender Mcp" — the Triage MCP server's own identity.
// This gives DEFINITIVE attribution of Triage MCP calls — no shared-surface estimation needed.
//
// Confirmed Feb 2026: AppId 7b7b3966 appears in MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs with delegated
// auth (certificate), full UserId attribution, and scopes SecurityAlert.Read.All,
// SecurityIncident.Read.All, ThreatHunting.Read.All.
//
// Known API endpoints:
// - POST /v1.0/security/runHuntingQuery/ (Advanced Hunting)
// - GET /security/incidents/ (ListIncidents, GetIncidentById)
// - GET /security/alerts_v2/ (ListAlerts, GetAlertById)
let triage_mcp_appid = "7b7b3966-1961-47b5-b080-43ca5482e21c";
MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d)
| where AppId == triage_mcp_appid
| extend Endpoint = extract(@"/v\d\.\d/(.+?)(\?|$)", 1, RequestUri)
| summarize
Calls = count(),
DistinctUsers = dcount(UserId),
Users = make_set(UserId, 10),
FirstSeen = min(TimeGenerated),
LastSeen = max(TimeGenerated)
by RequestMethod, Endpoint
| order by Calls desc
| take 25
Query 6: Sentinel Triage MCP — Authentication Events (SigninLogs)
Tool: mcp_sentinel-data_query_lake (union of SigninLogs + AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs fails in AH when AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs is on Data Lake tier — common in customer environments).
⚠️ Pitfall-aware: Uses parse_json() wrappers on DeviceDetail/LocationDetails — required for Data Lake (string columns). Uses = syntax (not as) in project.
// Triage MCP authentication events from SigninLogs + AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs.
// AppId 7b7b3966 = "Microsoft Defender Mcp" — delegated auth with certificate.
// Uses parse_json() wrappers for DeviceDetail/LocationDetails (safe in both AH and Data Lake).
let triage_mcp_appid = "7b7b3966-1961-47b5-b080-43ca5482e21c";
let signinlogs_interactive = SigninLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d)
| where AppId == triage_mcp_appid
| extend SignInType = "Interactive"
| project TimeGenerated, UserPrincipalName, AppDisplayName, AppId,
ResourceDisplayName, IPAddress,
ResultType = tostring(ResultType),
ResultDescription = tostring(ResultDescription),
SignInType,
OS = tostring(parse_json(DeviceDetail).operatingSystem),
Browser = tostring(parse_json(DeviceDetail).browser),
Country = tostring(parse_json(LocationDetails).countryOrRegion),
City = tostring(parse_json(LocationDetails).city);
let signinlogs_noninteractive = AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d)
| where AppId == triage_mcp_appid
| extend SignInType = "NonInteractive"
| project TimeGenerated, UserPrincipalName, AppDisplayName, AppId,
ResourceDisplayName, IPAddress,
ResultType = tostring(ResultType),
ResultDescription = tostring(ResultDescription),
SignInType,
OS = tostring(parse_json(DeviceDetail).operatingSystem),
Browser = tostring(parse_json(DeviceDetail).browser),
Country = tostring(parse_json(LocationDetails).countryOrRegion),
City = tostring(parse_json(LocationDetails).city);
union signinlogs_interactive, signinlogs_noninteractive
| summarize
SignIns = count(),
DistinctUsers = dcount(UserPrincipalName),
Users = make_set(UserPrincipalName, 10),
IPs = make_set(IPAddress, 10),
Countries = make_set(Country, 10),
LastSeen = max(TimeGenerated)
by AppDisplayName, SignInType, ResourceDisplayName
| order by SignIns desc
Query 7: LAQueryLogs — Advanced Hunting Downstream Queries (Supplementary Signal)
// SUPPLEMENTARY detection: Advanced Hunting queries (from Triage MCP, Defender portal,
// Security Copilot, or any RunAdvancedHuntingQuery consumer) that hit connected
// Log Analytics workspace tables.
//
// AH downstream queries appear under fc780465 (Sentinel Engine) with
// RequestClientApp "M365D_AdvancedHunting" — full user attribution (AADEmail populated).
//
// This is a DOWNSTREAM signal — it only fires when RunAdvancedHuntingQuery targets
// Sentinel-connected LA tables (SigninLogs, AuditLogs, SecurityAlert, etc.).
// Queries hitting XDR-native tables (DeviceEvents, EmailEvents, etc.) stay in the
// Defender XDR backend and never appear here.
//
// Use alongside Query 5 (MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs) for complete Triage MCP coverage:
// - Query 5 = PRIMARY: Triage MCP API calls filtered by dedicated AppId 7b7b3966
// - Query 7 = SUPPLEMENTARY: downstream query execution when AH hits LA tables
//
// ATTRIBUTION LIMITATION: Cannot distinguish Triage MCP AH queries from Defender portal
// AH queries or Security Copilot AH queries — all appear as M365D_AdvancedHunting.
LAQueryLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d)
| where AADClientId == "fc780465-2017-40d4-a0c5-307022471b92" and RequestClientApp == "M365D_AdvancedHunting"
| summarize
QueryCount = count(),
DistinctUsers = dcount(AADEmail),
Users = make_set(AADEmail, 10),
AvgCPUMs = avg(StatsCPUTimeMs),
TotalRowsReturned = sum(ResponseRowCount),
FirstSeen = min(TimeGenerated),
LastSeen = max(TimeGenerated)
by AADClientId, RequestClientApp
| order by QueryCount desc
Query 8: All Workspace Query Sources — Complete Governance View
// Every client querying the workspace — MCP and non-MCP combined
LAQueryLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d)
| summarize
QueryCount = count(),
DistinctUsers = dcount(AADEmail),
AvgCPUMs = avg(StatsCPUTimeMs),
TotalRowsReturned = sum(ResponseRowCount)
by AADClientId
| order by QueryCount desc
Query 9: Graph MCP — Caller Attribution (User vs SPN)
// Attribute Graph MCP calls to User, Service Principal, or SPN subtype
// Key: UserId populated = delegated (user), ServicePrincipalId populated = app-only (SPN)
// ClientAuthMethod: 0 = public client (user), 1 = client secret (SPN), 2 = certificate (SPN)
MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d)
| where AppId == "e8c77dc2-69b3-43f4-bc51-3213c9d915b4"
| extend CallerType = case(
isnotempty(ServicePrincipalId) and isempty(UserId), "ServicePrincipal/Agent (App-Only)",
isnotempty(UserId) and isnotempty(ServicePrincipalId), "Delegated (User+SPN/Agent OBO)",
isnotempty(UserId) and isempty(ServicePrincipalId), "User (Delegated)",
"Unknown")
| extend AuthMethod = case(
ClientAuthMethod == 0, "Public Client",
ClientAuthMethod == 1, "Client Secret",
ClientAuthMethod == 2, "Client Certificate",
"Unknown")
| summarize
CallCount = count(),
DistinctEndpoints = dcount(tostring(split(RequestUri, "?")[0])),
SuccessRate = round(100.0 * countif(ResponseStatusCode >= 200 and ResponseStatusCode < 300) / count(), 1),
SampleEndpoints = make_set(tostring(split(RequestUri, "?")[0]), 5),
IPs = make_set(IPAddress, 5)
by CallerType, AuthMethod, UserId, ServicePrincipalId
| order by CallCount desc
Post-processing: For any rows where CallerType = "ServicePrincipal/Agent (App-Only)", cross-reference the ServicePrincipalId with Entra via Graph API:
- Primary method (most reliable): Query
/beta/servicePrincipals/{id}?$select=id,appId,displayName,servicePrincipalType,tags — check tags array for agentic indicators:
AgenticApp — confirms this is an agent applicationAIAgentBuilder — agent was created by an AI agent builder platformAgentCreatedBy:CopilotStudio — specifically created by Copilot StudioAgenticInstance — runtime instance of an agentpower-virtual-agents-* — Copilot Studio internal tracking tag
- Fallback: Check
servicePrincipalType — if it equals "Agent", it is a registered Agent Identity. Note: as of Feb 2026, Copilot Studio agents still show "Application" here despite being true agents.
- Name-based filtering is UNRELIABLE — SPNs with "Agent" in display name may be standard app registrations (e.g., "Contoso Agent Tools" =
GitCreatedApp).
Use microsoft_graph_suggest_queries → microsoft_graph_get for the Graph API calls. Query multiple SPNs in one call: /beta/servicePrincipals?$count=true&$filter=id in ('id1','id2')&$select=id,appId,displayName,servicePrincipalType,tags.
Query 10: Data Lake MCP — Access Pattern Summary
Note: Consolidates former Q20 (Tool Usage Summary) + Q24 (MCP vs Direct KQL Delineation) into a single query.
Tool: RunAdvancedHuntingQuery (uses Timestamp for CloudAppEvents).
⚠️ Pitfall-aware: Uses contains (not has) for ActionType/Operation — see CloudAppEvents CamelCase Matching. Uses parse_json(tostring(RawEventData)) — see CloudAppEvents RawEventData Parsing. Filters on SentinelAIToolRunCompleted only — see CloudAppEvents Double-Counting Prevention.
// Data Lake MCP — single-pass access pattern delineation + tool/table/workspace inventory
// Combines former Q20 (summary) and Q24 (delineation) into one query
CloudAppEvents
| where Timestamp >= ago(30d)
| where ActionType contains "Sentinel" or ActionType contains "KQL"
| extend RawData = parse_json(tostring(RawEventData))
| extend
Operation = tostring(RawData.Operation),
RecordType = toint(RawData.RecordType),
ToolName = tostring(RawData.ToolName),
Interface = tostring(RawData.Interface),
ExecutionDuration = todouble(RawData.ExecutionDuration),
FailureReason = tostring(RawData.FailureReason),
TablesRead = tostring(RawData.TablesRead),
DatabasesRead = tostring(RawData.DatabasesRead),
TotalRows = toint(RawData.TotalRows),
UserId_raw = tostring(RawData.UserId),
InputParams = tostring(RawData.InputParameters)
| extend
AccessPattern = case(
RecordType == 403 and Interface == "IMcpToolTemplate", "MCP Server-Driven",
RecordType == 379 and (Interface == "InterfaceNotProvided" or isempty(Interface)), "MCP-Driven (Probable)",
RecordType == 379 and Interface has "msglakeexplorer", "Portal (Data Lake Explorer)",
RecordType == 379 and Interface has "msgjobmanagement", "Scheduled Jobs",
RecordType == 379, "Other Direct KQL",
"Other"),
IsSuccess = isempty(FailureReason) or FailureReason == "",
HasKQLQuery = InputParams has "query"
| where Operation contains "Completed" or RecordType == 379 // 'contains' not 'has' — CamelCase
| summarize
TotalCalls = count(),
SuccessCount = countif(IsSuccess),
FailureCount = countif(not(IsSuccess)),
DistinctTools = dcount(ToolName),
Tools = make_set(ToolName, 20),
DistinctTables = dcount(TablesRead),
Tables = make_set(TablesRead, 30),
Workspaces = make_set(DatabasesRead, 5),
AvgDurationSec = round(avg(ExecutionDuration), 2),
TotalRowsReturned = sum(TotalRows),
DistinctUsers = dcount(UserId_raw),
Users = make_set(UserId_raw, 10),
KQLQueryCount = countif(HasKQLQuery),
FirstSeen = min(Timestamp),
LastSeen = max(Timestamp)
by AccessPattern
| extend ErrorRate = round(100.0 * FailureCount / TotalCalls, 1)
| order by TotalCalls desc
Post-processing for Query 10:
- If
MCP Server-Driven (RecordType 403) has results → use it directly as the definitive MCP count.
- If
MCP Server-Driven returns 0 rows but MCP-Driven (Probable) has results → report the probable count with the audit gap caveat. Cross-reference users with Q4/Q6 SigninLogs to validate.
Portal (Data Lake Explorer) = msglakeexplorer@msec-msg interface, Scheduled Jobs = msgjobmanagement@msec-msg.- Combine with Query 8 (Analytics tier LAQueryLogs — all workspace sources) for a complete two-tier governance view:
| Tier | Data Source | MCP Sources | Non-MCP Sources |
|---|
| Analytics Tier | LAQueryLogs | AH backend fc780465 / M365D_AdvancedHunting (captures AH queries from Triage MCP, Defender portal, Security Copilot that hit connected LA tables; shared surface, see Query 7) | Sentinel Portal (80ccca67), Sentinel Engine analytics (fc780465, non-AH), Logic Apps (de8c33bb) |
| Data Lake Tier | CloudAppEvents | Data Lake MCP (RecordType 403, IMcpToolTemplate) | Direct KQL (RecordType 379, KqsService) |
| Graph API | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs | Graph MCP (e8c77dc2) | — |
| Azure MCP | SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs, LAQueryLogs | Azure MCP Server (04b07795, empty RequestClientApp, query text `\n | limit N` suffix) |
Query 11: Data Lake MCP — Interface Breakdown
Tool: RunAdvancedHuntingQuery (uses Timestamp for CloudAppEvents).
⚠️ Pitfall-aware: Uses contains/parse_json(tostring()) pattern — see Query 10 pitfall notes. Uses todouble(ExecutionDuration) — see Data Lake MCP ExecutionDuration Format. When RecordType 403 is present, groups by ToolName; when absent, falls back to Interface field.
// Breakdown of Data Lake access by Interface — identifies MCP vs Portal vs Jobs
// PRIMARY: Uses RecordType 403 / ToolName when available (MCP audit events)
// FALLBACK: When RecordType 403 absent, groups by Interface field from RecordType 379
// - InterfaceNotProvided = probable MCP-driven (cross-ref with Q4/Q6 SigninLogs)
// - msglakeexplorer@msec-msg = Sentinel Portal Data Lake Explorer
// - msgjobmanagement@msec-msg = Scheduled/job-based queries
// - ipykernel_launcher.py = Jupyter Notebook
// - PowerBIConnector = Power BI
// - Microsoft.Medeina.Server = Security Copilot
CloudAppEvents
| where Timestamp >= ago(30d)
| where ActionType contains "Sentinel" or ActionType contains "KQL"
| extend RawData = parse_json(tostring(RawEventData))
| extend
Operation = tostring(RawData.Operation),
RecordType = toint(RawData.RecordType),
ToolName = tostring(RawData.ToolName),
Interface = tostring(RawData.Interface),
ExecutionDuration = todouble(RawData.ExecutionDuration),
FailureReason = tostring(RawData.FailureReason),
TablesRead = tostring(RawData.TablesRead),
UserId_raw = tostring(RawData.UserId)
| where Operation contains "Completed" or RecordType == 379
| extend
// When RecordType 403 exists, ToolName is the grouping key; otherwise use Interface
GroupKey = iff(RecordType == 403, coalesce(ToolName, "unknown_tool"), coalesce(Interface, "InterfaceNotProvided")),
IsSuccess = isempty(FailureReason) or FailureReason == "",
Source = iff(RecordType == 403, "MCP Tool (RecordType 403)", "Interface (RecordType 379)")
| summarize
CallCount = count(),
SuccessCount = countif(IsSuccess),
FailureCount = countif(not(IsSuccess)),
AvgDurationSec = round(avg(ExecutionDuration), 2),
MaxDurationSec = round(max(ExecutionDuration), 2),
TablesAccessed = make_set(TablesRead, 20),
DistinctUsers = dcount(UserId_raw),
Users = make_set(UserId_raw, 10),
FirstSeen = min(Timestamp),
LastSeen = max(Timestamp)
by GroupKey, Source
| extend ErrorRate = round(100.0 * FailureCount / CallCount, 1)
| order by CallCount desc
Query 12: Data Lake MCP — Error Analysis
Tool: RunAdvancedHuntingQuery (uses Timestamp for CloudAppEvents).
⚠️ Pitfall-aware: Uses contains/parse_json(tostring()) pattern — see Query 10 pitfall notes. Now groups errors by both AccessPattern (MCP vs Portal vs Jobs) and ErrorCategory for richer diagnostics.
// Analyze failed Data Lake queries — identify schema errors, permission issues, etc.
// PRIMARY: Filters on ActionType contains "SentinelAITool" (RecordType 403) when available
// FALLBACK: When RecordType 403 absent, analyzes all failed RecordType 379 events grouped by Interface
CloudAppEvents
| where Timestamp >= ago(30d)
| where ActionType contains "Sentinel" or ActionType contains "KQL"
| extend RawData = parse_json(tostring(RawEventData))
| extend
Operation = tostring(RawData.Operation),
RecordType = toint(RawData.RecordType),
ToolName = tostring(RawData.ToolName),
Interface = tostring(RawData.Interface),
FailureReason = tostring(RawData.FailureReason),
TablesRead = tostring(RawData.TablesRead),
UserId_raw = tostring(RawData.UserId)
| where Operation contains "Completed" or RecordType == 379
| where isnotempty(FailureReason) and FailureReason != ""
| extend
AccessPattern = case(
RecordType == 403 and Interface == "IMcpToolTemplate", "MCP Server-Driven",
RecordType == 379 and (Interface == "InterfaceNotProvided" or isempty(Interface)), "MCP-Driven (Probable)",
RecordType == 379 and Interface has "msglakeexplorer", "Portal (Data Lake Explorer)",
RecordType == 379 and Interface has "msgjobmanagement", "Scheduled Jobs",
RecordType == 379, "Other Direct KQL",
"Other"),
ErrorCategory = case(
FailureReason has "SemanticError", "Schema/Semantic Error",
FailureReason has "SyntaxError", "KQL Syntax Error",
FailureReason has "Unauthorized" or FailureReason has "403", "Permission Denied",
FailureReason has "Timeout", "Query Timeout",
FailureReason has "NotFound", "Table/Resource Not Found",
"Other Error")
| summarize
ErrorCount = count(),
Tools = make_set(ToolName, 10),
Tables = make_set(TablesRead, 10),
Users = make_set(UserId_raw, 10),
SampleErrors = make_set(substring(FailureReason, 0, 150), 5),
FirstSeen = min(Timestamp),
LastSeen = max(Timestamp)
by AccessPattern, ErrorCategory
| order by AccessPattern asc, ErrorCount desc
Query 13: Azure MCP Server — Authentication Events (SigninLogs)
Tool: mcp_sentinel-data_query_lake (90d lookback exceeds AH 30d limit).
⚠️ Pitfall-aware: Uses parse_json(Status)/parse_json(DeviceDetail) wrappers — see SigninLogs Status Field Needs parse_json(). Uses extend SignInType to avoid Type pseudo-column — see Type Column Unavailable in Data Lake Union Contexts.
// Detect Azure MCP Server authentication events via Azure CLI AppId.
//
// 🔄 UPDATED Feb 2026: Azure MCP Server now uses Azure CLI credential (04b07795),
// NOT AzurePowerShellCredential (1950a258) as previously documented.
// The old AppId 1950a258 + UserAgent 'azsdk-net-Identity' fingerprint is OBSOLETE.
//
// ⚠️ SHARED APPID: 04b07795 is the Azure CLI AppId — shared with manual 'az' CLI usage.
// There is NO unique sign-in fingerprint for Azure MCP Server vs manual Azure CLI.
// This query returns ALL Azure CLI sign-ins. Correlate with LAQueryLogs (Query 14)
// for query-level attribution via the '\n| limit N' text pattern.
//
// NOTE: Sign-in events represent TOKEN ACQUISITIONS, not individual API calls.
// A cached token serves many Azure MCP calls with no additional sign-in events.
// FIX (Feb 2026): Explicit tostring() casts on ResultType, ResultDescription,
// ConditionalAccessStatus, AuthenticationRequirement to prevent union type mismatches
// between SigninLogs and AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs. Removed ResourceId (inconsistent
// across tables). Use parse_json() wrapper on DeviceDetail and LocationDetails — these
// columns may be stored as string (not dynamic) in Data Lake workspaces, causing
// SemanticError on dot-notation access without parse_json().
let azure_mcp_appid = "04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46";
let signinlogs_interactive = SigninLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(90d)
| where AppId == azure_mcp_appid
| extend SignInType = "Interactive"
| project TimeGenerated, UserPrincipalName, AppDisplayName, AppId,
ResourceDisplayName, IPAddress,
ResultType = tostring(ResultType),
ResultDescription = tostring(ResultDescription),
UserAgent, SignInType,
ConditionalAccessStatus = tostring(ConditionalAccessStatus),
AuthenticationRequirement = tostring(AuthenticationRequirement),
OS = tostring(parse_json(DeviceDetail).operatingSystem),
Country = tostring(parse_json(LocationDetails).countryOrRegion);
let signinlogs_noninteractive = AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(90d)
| where AppId == azure_mcp_appid
| extend SignInType = "Non-Interactive"
| project TimeGenerated, UserPrincipalName, AppDisplayName, AppId,
ResourceDisplayName, IPAddress,
ResultType = tostring(ResultType),
ResultDescription = tostring(ResultDescription),
UserAgent, SignInType,
ConditionalAccessStatus = tostring(ConditionalAccessStatus),
AuthenticationRequirement = tostring(AuthenticationRequirement),
OS = tostring(parse_json(DeviceDetail).operatingSystem),
Country = tostring(parse_json(LocationDetails).countryOrRegion);
union signinlogs_interactive, signinlogs_noninteractive
| order by TimeGenerated desc
Query 14: Azure MCP Server — Workspace Queries (LAQueryLogs)
Tool: mcp_sentinel-data_query_lake (90d lookback exceeds AH 30d limit).
// Detect Azure MCP Server workspace queries via LAQueryLogs.
//
// 🔄 UPDATED Feb 2026: Azure MCP Server now uses Azure CLI credential (04b07795).
// RequestClientApp is EMPTY (not 'csharpsdk,LogAnalyticsPSClient' as previously documented).
//
// ⚠️ SHARED FINGERPRINT: Empty RequestClientApp + AppId 04b07795 is shared with manual
// Azure CLI and 4+ other AADClientIds. This query returns ALL queries from AppId 04b07795
// with empty RequestClientApp. To isolate Azure MCP Server queries, look for the
// '\n| limit N' suffix that monitor_workspace_log_query always appends to query text.
//
// 30-day pattern analysis (Feb 2026) showed 11 distinct RequestClientApp values:
// - Empty ("") = 417 queries across 5 AADClientIds (Azure MCP, Sentinel DL MCP, Portal, etc.)
// - "csharpsdk,LogAnalyticsPSClient" = only 1 query ever (obsolete fingerprint)
// - "M365D_AdvancedHunting" = Advanced Hunting backend
// - "ASI_Portal" / "ASI_Portal_Connectors" = Sentinel Portal
// - Others: AppInsightsPortalExtension, LogicApps, PSClient, etc.
let azure_cli_appid = "04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46";
LAQueryLogs
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(90d)
| where AADClientId == azure_cli_appid
| extend HasLimitSuffix = QueryText has "\n| limit" or QueryText has "\r\n| limit"
| project TimeGenerated, AADEmail, AADClientId,
RequestClientApp,
QueryTextTruncated = substring(QueryText, 0, 300),
ResponseCode, ResponseRowCount,
StatsCPUTimeMs,
RequestTarget,
HasLimitSuffix
| order by TimeGenerated desc
Post-processing: Rows with HasLimitSuffix = true are highly likely Azure MCP Server queries (the monitor_workspace_log_query command always appends | limit N). Rows without the suffix may be manual Azure CLI or other tools using the same credential.
Query 15: Top MCP Users — Cross-Server Breadth
Tool: RunAdvancedHuntingQuery (7-day lookback default, all tables on Analytics tier).
Purpose: Identifies users with the broadest MCP footprint — ranking by how many distinct MCP server types they use and their total call volume across all channels. Feeds the Top MCP Users report section and SVG dashboard widget.
let lookback = 7d;
let graph_mcp = MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs
| where TimeGenerated > ago(lookback)
| where AppId == "e8c77dc2-69b3-43f4-bc51-3213c9d915b4"
| where isnotempty(UserId)
| summarize Calls = count() by UserId
| project UserId, Server = "Graph MCP", Calls;
let triage_mcp = MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs
| where TimeGenerated > ago(lookback)
| where AppId == "7b7b3966-1961-47b5-b080-43ca5482e21c"
| where isnotempty(UserId)
| summarize Calls = count() by UserId
| project UserId, Server = "Triage MCP", Calls;
let datalake_mcp = CloudAppEvents
| where Timestamp > ago(lookback)
| where ActionType contains "Sentinel" or ActionType contains "KQL"
| extend RawData = parse_json(tostring(RawEventData))
| where tostring(RawData.Interface) == "InterfaceNotProvided" or isempty(tostring(RawData.Interface))
| where isnotempty(AccountObjectId)
| summarize Calls = count() by UserId = AccountObjectId
| project UserId, Server = "Data Lake MCP", Calls;
let azure_mcp = union SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs
| where TimeGenerated > ago(lookback)
| where AppId == "04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46"
| where isnotempty(UserId)
| summarize Calls = count() by UserId
| project UserId, Server = "Azure CLI/MCP", Calls;
let upn_map = union SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs
| where TimeGenerated > ago(lookback)
| where isnotempty(UserPrincipalName)
| summarize arg_max(TimeGenerated, UserPrincipalName) by UserId
| project UserId, UPN = UserPrincipalName;
union graph_mcp, triage_mcp, datalake_mcp, azure_mcp
| summarize Servers = make_set(Server), ServerCount = dcount(Server), TotalCalls = sum(Calls) by UserId
| join kind=leftouter upn_map on UserId
| project UPN = coalesce(UPN, UserId), ServerCount, Servers, TotalCalls
| sort by ServerCount desc, TotalCalls desc
| take 25
⚠️ Pitfall-aware:
- Data Lake MCP leg: Uses
ActionType contains (not has) per the CamelCase pitfall. Parses RawEventData once and filters on Interface field for the InterfaceNotProvided proxy signal when RecordType 403 is unavailable (see Phase 3 Known Limitation).
- Azure CLI/MCP leg: Uses shared AppId
04b07795 — includes both Azure MCP Server and manual az CLI sign-ins. Cannot distinguish at this level.
- UPN resolution: Joins with SigninLogs to resolve
UserId GUIDs to human-readable UPNs. Users with no recent sign-ins will show their GUID instead.
- CloudAppEvents timestamp: Uses
Timestamp (not TimeGenerated) since this runs via Advanced Hunting.
- AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs tier: If this table is on Data Lake/Basic tier, the
union SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs legs may fail in AH. Fall back to mcp_sentinel-data_query_lake if needed (switch Timestamp → TimeGenerated for the CloudAppEvents leg).
Post-processing:
- Render as a ranked table in the report:
| Rank | User (UPN) | Servers Used | MCP Servers | Total Calls |
- Users spanning 3+ servers represent the broadest MCP adoption — highlight them.
- Cross-reference top users with the sensitive endpoint data from Q2 to flag users with both breadth AND sensitive access.
Report Template
Inline Chat Report Structure
The inline report MUST include these sections in order:
- Header — Workspace, analysis period, data sources checked, MCP servers detected
- Executive Summary — 2-3 sentence overview of MCP usage posture
- MCP Footprint Summary (SVG-critical: provides consolidated KPIs for dashboard Row 2 + Row 3)
- Graph MCP Server Analysis
- Daily usage trend (ASCII bar chart showing requests/day — from Query 1 unified trend, Graph MCP series)
- Top endpoints table (endpoint, call count, % of total, last used)
- Sensitive API access summary with user attribution
- Caller attribution (User vs SPN vs Agent — from Query 9)
- Sentinel Triage MCP Analysis
- Triage MCP API calls from
MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs — filtered by dedicated AppId 7b7b3966 ("Microsoft Defender Mcp")
- Daily usage trend (ASCII bar chart showing calls/day — from Query 1 unified trend, Triage MCP series)
- Triage MCP authentication events from
SigninLogs/AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs — sign-in frequency, user attribution, IP, country
- User attribution table with sign-in type breakdown
- Sentinel Data Lake MCP Analysis
- MCP tool usage summary (success/failure, avg duration)
- Tool breakdown table (query_lake, list_sentinel_workspaces, search_tables, etc.)
- Error analysis with error categories and sample failure reasons
- Daily activity trend (ASCII bar chart — from Query 1 unified trend, Data Lake MCP series)
- MCP vs Direct KQL delineation table
- Azure MCP & ARM Analysis
- Azure MCP Server authentication events (detected via AppId
04b07795 — Azure CLI credential, shared AppId)
- Daily auth trend (ASCII bar chart showing events/day — from Query 1 unified trend, Azure MCP/CLI series)
- Azure MCP Server workspace queries from LAQueryLogs (detected via AADClientId
04b07795 + empty RequestClientApp + \n| limit N query text suffix)
- ARM operation volume and resource providers accessed — if no ARM write ops detected, explicitly state: "✅ No ARM write operations detected for AppId
04b07795 in the analysis period."
- Source attribution via Claims.appid (Azure Portal, AI Studio, Power Platform connectors, etc.)
- Workspace Query Governance (Two-Tier)
- Analytics Tier (LAQueryLogs): All query sources table with MCP vs Portal vs Platform breakdown
- Data Lake Tier (CloudAppEvents): MCP-driven vs Direct KQL breakdown
- Combined MCP proportion across both tiers
- Pareto analysis of query sources
- Top MCP Users (Cross-Server Breadth)
- Ranked table of users by number of MCP servers used and total call volume
- Cross-server correlation (Graph MCP, Triage MCP, Data Lake MCP, Azure CLI/MCP)
- UPN resolution from UserIds
- MCP Usage Score — Per-dimension breakdown with scoring rationale
- Security Assessment — Emoji-coded findings table with evidence citations
- Recommendations — Prioritized action items based on findings
Report Completeness Checklist
🔴 MANDATORY — Run before finalizing any report. After composing the full report, verify each row below. Every server section (4-7) must include its Daily Trend chart derived from Query 1. Query 1 returns all 4 server series in a single union — filter by Server column to extract each.
| # | Section | Required Sub-Section | Data Source | Check |
|---|
| 4 | Graph MCP Server | Daily Usage Trend (ASCII bar chart) | Q1 → Server = "Graph MCP" | ☐ |
| 4 | Graph MCP Server | Top Endpoints table | Q2 | ☐ |
| 4 | Graph MCP Server | Sensitive API access summary | Q2 IsSensitive rows | ☐ |
| 4 | Graph MCP Server | Caller attribution | Q9 | ☐ |
| 5 | Sentinel Triage MCP | Daily Usage Trend (ASCII bar chart) | Q1 → Server = "Triage MCP" | ☐ |
| 5 | Sentinel Triage MCP | API calls table | Q5 | ☐ |
| 5 | Sentinel Triage MCP | Authentication events | Q6 | ☐ |
| 6 | Data Lake MCP | Daily Activity Trend (ASCII bar chart) | Q1 → Server = "Data Lake MCP" | ☐ |
| 6 | Data Lake MCP | MCP vs Direct KQL delineation | Q10 | ☐ |
| 6 | Data Lake MCP | Tool breakdown table | Q11 | ☐ |
| 6 | Data Lake MCP | Error analysis | Q12 | ☐ |
| 7 | Azure MCP Server | Daily Auth Trend (ASCII bar chart) | Q1 → Server = "Azure MCP/CLI" | ☐ |
| 7 | Azure MCP Server | Authentication events | Q13 | ☐ |
| 7 | Azure MCP Server | Workspace queries (LAQueryLogs) | Q14 | ☐ |
| 7 | Azure MCP Server | AzureActivity write operations | (ad-hoc or explicit "none found") | ☐ |
| 9 | Top MCP Users | Cross-server user breadth table | Q15 | ☐ |
If any checkbox cannot be checked, either the data was missing (state why — e.g., "Q1 returned 0 rows for this server") or the section was accidentally omitted. Do not finalize the report with unchecked boxes unless the data genuinely does not exist.
Report Visualization Patterns
Daily Usage Trend (ASCII)
Graph MCP Usage — Last 30 Days
Day Calls Trend
─────────────────────────────────────
2026-02-07 │ 23 ████████████
2026-02-06 │ 0
2026-02-05 │ 45 ██████████████████████
2026-02-04 │ 12 ██████
...
─────────────────────────────────────
Avg: 15.2/day Peak: 45 Total: 152
Workspace Query Proportion (ASCII)
Analytics Tier Query Sources — Last 30d (LAQueryLogs)
──────────────────────────────────────────
Sentinel Engine ████████████████████████████████████ 88.4% (10,354)
Logic Apps ████ 7.0% (821)
Triage MCP █ 4.1% (481)
Sentinel Portal 0.4% (48)
──────────────────────────────────────────
MCP Servers: 4.1% │ Portal: 0.4% │ Platform: 95.4%
Data Lake Tier Query Sources — Last 30d (CloudAppEvents)
──────────────────────────────────────────
Data Lake MCP ████████████████████████████████████ 97.1% (1,028)
Direct KQL 2.9% (34)
──────────────────────────────────────────
MCP Server-Driven: 97.1% │ Direct KQL: 2.9%
Endpoint Access Distribution (ASCII)
Top Graph MCP Endpoints — 30d
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
conditionalAccess/policies ████████████ 27 (17.8%)
users ██████████ 22 (14.5%)
roleManagement/directory ████████ 18 (11.8%)
servicePrincipals ██████ 14 (9.2%)
groups █████ 11 (7.2%)
...
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
🔴 Sensitive: 82/152 (53.9%) │ ✅ Standard: 70/152 (46.1%)
MCP Usage Score Card (ASCII)
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MCP USAGE SCORE: 22/100 │
│ Rating: ✅ HEALTHY │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ User Diversity [██░░░░░░░░] 3/20 (1-2 users) │
│ Endpoint Sensitiv [████████░░] 14/20 (54% sensitive)│
│ Error Rate [░░░░░░░░░░] 0/20 (<1% errors) │
│ Volume Anomaly [██░░░░░░░░] 3/20 (within norm) │
│ Off-Hours Activity [█░░░░░░░░░] 2/20 (<5% off-hrs) │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Markdown File Report Structure
When outputting to markdown file, include everything from the inline format PLUS:
# MCP Server Usage Monitoring Report
**Generated:** YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM UTC
**Workspace:** <workspace_name>
**Analysis Period:** <start> → <end> (<N> days)
**Data Sources:** MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs, SigninLogs, LAQueryLogs, CloudAppEvents, AzureActivity, SentinelAudit
---
## Executive Summary
<2-3 sentence summary: MCP servers detected, total usage volume, risk level, key findings>
---
## MCP Footprint Summary
### Server Landscape
| MCP Server | API Calls | Auth Events | Distinct Users | Error Rate | Status |
|------------|----------:|------------:|---------------:|-----------:|--------|
| Graph MCP | ... | — | ... | ...% | ✅/🟡/🟠/🔴 |
| Triage MCP | ... | ... | ... | ...% | ✅/🟡/🟠/🔴 |
| Data Lake MCP | ... | — | ... | ...% | ✅/🟡/🟠/🔴 |
| Azure MCP/CLI | — | ... | ... | ...% | ✅/🟡/🟠/🔴 |
### Consolidated KPIs
| Metric | Value |
|--------|------:|
| Total MCP API Calls | X,XXX |
| Total Auth Events | X,XXX |
| Distinct MCP Users | XXX |
| Active MCP Servers | N of 4 |
| Combined MCP Query Share | X.X% |
| Sensitive API Rate | X.X% |
> **SVG Note:** These KPIs map directly to Row 2 KPI cards and the Server Landscape maps to Row 3 table widget. Render this section before per-server deep dives to enable incremental SVG generation.
---
## Graph MCP Server
### Daily Usage Trend
<ASCII bar chart — requests per day>
### Top Endpoints
| Rank | Endpoint | Calls | % Total | Users | Last Used |
|------|----------|-------|---------|-------|-----------|
| 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
### Sensitive API Access
| Endpoint | Calls | Users | Methods | Risk |
|----------|-------|-------|---------|------|
| roleManagement/... | 18 | 1 | GET | 🟠 Read access to PIM |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
**Summary:** X of Y calls (Z%) targeted sensitive endpoints. <Risk assessment>.
### Caller Attribution (Query 9)
| Caller Type | Auth Method | Users | Calls | Success Rate |
|-------------|-------------|------:|------:|-------------:|
| 👤 User (Delegated) | ... | ... | ... | ...% |
| 🤖 Service Principal | ... | ... | ... | ...% |
---
## Sentinel Triage MCP
### Triage MCP API Calls (MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs — AppId `7b7b3966`)
| Endpoint | Method | Calls | Users | First Seen | Last Seen |
|----------|--------|-------|-------|------------|----------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
### Triage MCP Authentication Events (SigninLogs — "Microsoft Defender Mcp")
| Sign-In Type | Sign-Ins | Users | IPs | Countries | Resource | Last Seen |
|-------------|----------|-------|-----|-----------|----------|----------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
---
## Sentinel Data Lake MCP
> **Audit Source:** `CloudAppEvents` (Purview unified audit log)
> **Classification:** RecordType 403 + Interface `IMcpToolTemplate` = MCP-driven | RecordType 379 = Direct KQL
### MCP vs Direct KQL Delineation
| Access Pattern | Total Calls | Success | Failures | Error Rate | Avg Duration | Users |
|---------------|-------------|---------|----------|------------|-------------|-------|
| 🤖 MCP Server-Driven | ... | ... | ... | ...% | ...s | ... |
| 👤 Direct KQL | ... | ... | ... | ...% | ...s | ... |
### MCP Tool Breakdown
| Tool Name | Calls | Success | Failures | Error Rate | Avg Duration | Last Seen |
|-----------|-------|---------|----------|------------|-------------|-----------|
| `query_lake` | ... | ... | ... | ...% | ...s | ... |
| `list_sentinel_workspaces` | ... | ... | ... | ...% | ...s | ... |
| `search_tables` | ... | ... | ... | ...% | ...s | ... |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
### Error Analysis
| Error Category | Count | % of Failures | Sample Error | Affected Tools |
|---------------|-------|---------------|--------------|----------------|
| Schema/Semantic Error | ... | ...% | `column 'X' does not exist` | ... |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
### Daily Activity Trend
<ASCII bar chart — MCP + Direct KQL calls per day>
---
## Azure MCP Server
> **Detection Method:** Azure CLI credential (AppId `04b07795`, shared with manual `az` CLI). `RequestClientApp` is empty in LAQueryLogs. Best differentiator: Azure MCP appends `\\n| limit N` to query text via `monitor_workspace_log_query`. 🔄 Previously documented as AppId `1950a258` + `csharpsdk,LogAnalyticsPSClient` — that fingerprint is obsolete.
### Authentication Timeline
| Timestamp | Resource | Result | Auth Type | UserAgent | Notes |
|-----------|----------|--------|-----------|-----------|-------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
### Workspace Queries (LAQueryLogs)
| Timestamp | Query (truncated) | Response | CPU (ms) | Source App |
|-----------|-------------------|----------|----------|------------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
### AzureActivity Write Operations
| Timestamp | Operation | Resource Provider | Status | Claims.appid |
|-----------|-----------|-------------------|--------|-------------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | `04b07795` |
> If no ARM write operations found, state: "✅ No ARM write operations detected for AppId `04b07795` in the analysis period. ARM read operations are not logged in AzureActivity."
---
## Azure ARM Operations (All Sources)
> **Source Attribution:** ARM operations attributed via `Claims.appid` in AzureActivity.
> Azure MCP Server read-only operations NOT logged in AzureActivity.
### ARM Source Attribution
| AppId | App Name | Calls | Operations |
|-------|----------|-------|------------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
### Operations by Resource Provider
| Resource Provider | Calls | Top Operations | Distinct Resources |
|-------------------|-------|----------------|-------------------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
---
## Workspace Query Governance (Two-Tier)
### Analytics Tier (LAQueryLogs)
| Rank | AppId | Source | Category | Queries | % Total | Users |
|------|-------|--------|----------|---------|---------|-------|
| 1 | ... | Sentinel Engine | Platform | ... | ... | ... |
| 2 | ... | Sentinel Triage MCP | MCP Server | ... | ... | ... |
| 3 | ... | Sentinel Portal | Portal | ... | ... | ... |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
### Data Lake Tier (CloudAppEvents)
| Access Pattern | Calls | % Total | Users | Tables Accessed |
|---------------|-------|---------|-------|-----------------|
| 🤖 MCP Server-Driven | ... | ...% | ... | ... |
| 👤 Direct KQL | ... | ...% | ... | ... |
### Combined MCP Proportion
<ASCII proportion bar — Analytics + Data Lake tiers combined>
MCP queries represent X% of combined query volume:
- Analytics tier: X of Y queries via Sentinel Triage MCP (Z%)
- Data Lake tier: X of Y queries via Data Lake MCP (Z%)
- Graph API: X calls via Graph MCP
---
## Top MCP Users (Cross-Server Breadth)
### User Ranking by MCP Server Breadth (Query 15)
| Rank | User (UPN) | Servers Used | MCP Servers | Total Calls |
|------|-----------|:------------:|-------------|------------:|
| 1 | ... | N | Graph MCP, Triage MCP, ... | X,XXX |
| 2 | ... | N | ... | X,XXX |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
> **Interpretation:** Users spanning 3+ MCP servers represent the broadest AI tool adoption. Cross-reference with sensitive endpoint data (§4) to identify users combining breadth with privileged access.
---
## MCP Usage Score
<ASCII score card>
### Dimension Breakdown
| Dimension | Score | Evidence |
|-----------|-------|----------|
| User Diversity | X/20 | N distinct users across M MCP channels |
| Endpoint Sensitivity | X/20 | N% of Graph MCP calls to sensitive endpoints |
| Error Rate | X/20 | N% error rate across all channels |
| Volume Anomaly | X/20 | Peak day was N% of rolling average |
| Off-Hours Activity | X/20 | N% of calls outside 08:00-18:00 UTC |
---
## Security Assessment
| Factor | Finding |
|--------|---------|
| 🔴/🟢/🟡/🟠 **Factor** | Evidence-based finding |
---
## Recommendations
1. ⚠️/🟢 <Prioritized action item with evidence>
2. ...
---
## Appendix: Query Details
Render a single markdown table summarizing all queries executed. **Do NOT include full KQL text** — the canonical queries are already documented in this SKILL.md file. The appendix serves as an audit trail only.
| Query | Table(s) | Records Scanned | Results | Execution |
|-------|----------|----------------:|--------:|----------:|
| Q1 — Unified Daily MCP Activity Trend | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs, CloudAppEvents, SigninLogs, AADNonInteractive, LAQueryLogs | X,XXX | N rows | X.XXs |
| Q2 — Graph MCP Endpoint & Activity Summary | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs | X,XXX | N rows | X.XXs |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
*Query definitions: see the Sample KQL Queries section in this SKILL.md file.*
Proactive Alerting — KQL Data Lake Jobs
This skill provides on-demand visibility (Phases 1-7 above). For continuous, scheduled anomaly detection that feeds Sentinel analytics rules, use the companion KQL Data Lake Jobs defined in:
📄 queries/identity/mcp_anomaly_detection_kql_jobs.md
Maturity Model
| Tier | Capability | Implementation |
|---|
| 1. Visibility (current skill) | On-demand MCP usage reports via Copilot chat | This SKILL.md — Phases 1-7, Queries 1-15 |
| 2. Baselining | 14-day behavioral baselines per user per MCP server | KQL Jobs 1-8 build baselines automatically |
| 3. Alerting | Automated anomaly detection → Sentinel incidents | KQL Jobs promote to _KQL_CL tables → Analytics Rules fire |
| 4. Enforcement | Real-time guardrails, scope limits (future) | Not yet available — requires MCP protocol-level controls |
KQL Job Inventory
| Job | Anomaly Type | Source Table(s) | Destination Table | Schedule |
|---|
| 1 | New sensitive Graph endpoint | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs | MCPGraphAnomalies_KQL_CL | Daily |
| 2 | Graph MCP volume spike (3x baseline) | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs | MCPGraphAnomalies_KQL_CL | Daily |
| 3 | Off-hours Graph MCP activity | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs | MCPGraphAnomalies_KQL_CL | Daily |
| 4 | Graph MCP error rate anomaly | MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs | MCPGraphAnomalies_KQL_CL | Daily |
| 5 | New Azure MCP Server user | AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs | MCPAzureAnomalies_KQL_CL | Daily |
| 6 | New Azure MCP resource target | AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs | MCPAzureAnomalies_KQL_CL | Daily |
| 7 | Sentinel workspace query anomalies | LAQueryLogs | MCPSentinelAnomalies_KQL_CL | Daily |
| 8 | Cross-MCP activity chains | Multiple (join) | MCPCrossMCPCorrelation_KQL_CL | Daily |
Why KQL Jobs (Not Summary Rules)
KQL jobs support multi-table joins — critical for Job 7 (LAQueryLogs + baseline) and Job 8 (Graph + Azure + Sentinel cross-correlation). Summary rules are limited to single-table with lookup() joins to analytics-tier tables only.
Architecture
Data Lake ──[KQL Jobs (daily)]──► _KQL_CL tables (analytics tier) ──[Analytics Rules]──► Incidents
Key design constraints:
- 15-minute delay: All queries use
now() - 15m to account for Data Lake ingestion latency
- Anomaly-only promotion: Only flagged records are written to analytics tier (cost optimization)
- Separate timestamp:
DetectedTime preserves original event time; TimeGenerated reflects job execution time
- 3 concurrent job limit: Per tenant — prioritize Jobs 1, 7, 8 for highest-value detections
For full query definitions, deployment checklist, and companion analytics rule templates, see queries/identity/mcp_anomaly_detection_kql_jobs.md.
Known Pitfalls
project ... as Keyword Fails in Advanced Hunting
Problem: The as keyword for column aliasing inside project (e.g., tostring(parse_json(Status).errorCode) as ErrorCode) fails in Advanced Hunting with Query could not be parsed at 'as'. While as is valid KQL in Log Analytics / Data Lake, the AH parser rejects it inside project statements.
Solution: Always use = assignment syntax instead: ErrorCode = tostring(parse_json(Status).errorCode). This works in both AH and Data Lake. All queries in this skill have been updated to use = syntax. When writing new queries, never use as for column aliasing in project — reserve as for tabular expression naming (let T = ... | as T).
Azure MCP Server Detection (🔄 Updated Feb 2026)
Problem: Azure MCP Server uses DefaultAzureCredential and the credential chain now resolves to Azure CLI (AppId 04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46), NOT AzurePowerShellCredential (1950a258) as previously documented. In LAQueryLogs, RequestClientApp is empty (not csharpsdk,LogAnalyticsPSClient). The previously documented fingerprint (1950a258 + csharpsdk,LogAnalyticsPSClient) appeared only once in 30-day lookback and is obsolete. ARM read operations (the majority of MCP calls) do not appear in AzureActivity.
Previous fingerprint (OBSOLETE):
- ❌ AppId
1950a258-227b-4e31-a9cf-717495945fc2 (AzurePowerShellCredential)
- ❌
RequestClientApp = "csharpsdk,LogAnalyticsPSClient" in LAQueryLogs
- ❌ UserAgent
azsdk-net-Identity as primary differentiator (shared by many Azure SDK services)
Current fingerprint (field-tested Feb 2026):
- ✅ AppId
04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46 (Azure CLI)
- ✅
RequestClientApp is empty (shared with Azure CLI and 4+ other AADClientIds — not a unique fingerprint)
- ✅ Azure MCP
monitor_workspace_log_query appends \n| limit N to query text — best query-level differentiator
- ✅ Token caching: sign-in events represent access sessions, not individual API calls
Solution: Azure MCP Server queries can be identified in LAQueryLogs with moderate confidence by filtering for AADClientId 04b07795 + query text containing \n| limit (the suffix added by monitor_workspace_log_query). In SigninLogs, the shared AppId means Azure MCP is indistinguishable from manual Azure CLI usage — present as "Azure MCP Server / Azure CLI (shared AppId 04b07795)" in reports. The empty RequestClientApp bucket contains queries from 5+ different tools, so this field cannot be used for attribution.
Limitations:
- ARM read operations produce sign-in events but NOT AzureActivity records
- If the user also runs
az CLI manually, sign-in events from both are indistinguishable
- The
\n| limit N query text suffix is the only reliable query-level differentiator but is heuristic
- The credential chain may change with Azure MCP Server updates — monitor for AppId shifts
- AzureActivity ingestion lag is typically 3-20 min (MS docs); SigninLogs ~1-2h; LAQueryLogs/AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs ~5-15 min
MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs Availability
Problem: Graph activity logs are NOT enabled by default. If the table is empty or doesn't exist, Graph MCP analysis cannot proceed.
Solution: If MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs returns 0 results or table-not-found error, report: "⚠️ Microsoft Graph activity logs are not enabled in this tenant. Enable them at: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/microsoft-graph-activity-logs-overview". Skip Graph MCP analysis gracefully and proceed with other MCP channels.
LAQueryLogs Diagnostic Settings
Problem: LAQueryLogs requires diagnostic settings to be configured on the Log Analytics workspace. Without it, workspace query governance analysis is impossible.
Solution: If LAQueryLogs returns empty, report: "⚠️ LAQueryLogs not available — enable Log Analytics workspace diagnostic settings to monitor query activity." Skip workspace governance analysis and note the gap.
AppId Misclassification History (Field-Tested Feb 2026)
80ccca67 — Previously assumed to be a Graph MCP variant. Actually the M365 Security & Compliance Center (Sentinel Portal backend, RequestClientApp = ASI_Portal). Categorize as "Sentinel Portal (Non-MCP)". Graph MCP has only ONE AppId: e8c77dc2.
95a5d94c — Previously assumed to be "VS Code Copilot" (MCP Client). Actually the Azure Portal — AppInsightsPortalExtension blade, executing Usage dashboard/workbook queries in the browser. No SPN or app registration in tenant; not in merill/microsoft-info known apps list. Categorize as "Portal/Platform (Non-MCP)".
📘 Takeaway: When encountering an unknown AppId in LAQueryLogs, check the RequestClientApp field first — it reliably reveals the actual source (e.g., AppInsightsPortalExtension, ASI_Portal). Do not assume an AppId is MCP-related without verifying via Graph API SPN lookup, sign-in logs, and query content analysis.
CloudAppEvents CamelCase Matching (ActionType AND Operation)
Problem: Both ActionType and RawEventData.Operation values in CloudAppEvents for Sentinel operations use CamelCase without word boundaries (e.g., SentinelAIToolRunCompleted, KQLQueryCompleted). The has operator requires word boundaries and will NOT match these values. Field-tested Feb 2026: has "Completed" returns false for ALL Operation values including KQLQueryCompleted — the has operator fails on substrings within CamelCase tokens.
Solution: Always use contains (not has) when filtering ActionType or Operation for Sentinel/KQL operations:
// ✅ CORRECT — 'contains' works with CamelCase
| where ActionType contains "Sentinel" or ActionType contains "KQL"
| where Operation contains "Completed"
// ❌ WRONG — 'has' requires word boundaries, fails on CamelCase
| where ActionType has "Sentinel" or ActionType has "KQL"
| where Operation has "Completed" // Returns 0 rows — silently drops ALL MCP events!
Impact if missed: Query 12 (MCP vs Direct KQL delineation) will show 0 MCP events and ONLY Direct KQL — because MCP events (RecordType 403) are filtered out by Operation has "Completed", while Direct KQL events (RecordType 379) survive via the OR RecordType == 379 fallback. This creates a false impression that no MCP-driven queries exist.
CloudAppEvents RawEventData Parsing
Problem: RawEventData in CloudAppEvents is a dynamic column but often contains nested JSON that requires double-parsing. Direct property access (e.g., RawEventData.ToolName) may return empty.
Solution: Always parse explicitly with parse_json(tostring(RawEventData)):
| extend RawData = parse_json(tostring(RawEventData))
| extend ToolName = tostring(RawData.ToolName)
Data Lake MCP Has No AppId
Problem: Unlike Graph MCP (e8c77dc2) and Sentinel Triage MCP (7b7b3966), the Sentinel Data Lake MCP has no dedicated AppId in any telemetry table. It is not visible in LAQueryLogs, SigninLogs, or MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs.
Solution: Data Lake MCP activity is audited exclusively via CloudAppEvents (Purview unified audit log). Filter by ActionType contains "SentinelAITool" (preferred — top-level column) or extract RecordType from RawEventData with toint(parse_json(tostring(RawEventData)).RecordType) == 403 and Interface == "IMcpToolTemplate". Note: RecordType is NOT a top-level column in CloudAppEvents — it is nested inside RawEventData and must be extracted via parse_json().
Table availability (field-tested Feb 2026): CloudAppEvents was confirmed available on both Data Lake (TimeGenerated, 90d retention) and Advanced Hunting (Timestamp, 30d retention) in a standard Sentinel workspace without explicit Purview/E5 configuration. Always attempt the query first — only report a gap if the table returns 0 results or a table-not-found error. Do not skip Phase 3 based on licensing assumptions.
CloudAppEvents Double-Counting Prevention
Problem: Each Data Lake MCP tool call generates TWO events: SentinelAIToolRunStarted (RecordType 403) and SentinelAIToolRunCompleted (RecordType 403). Counting both will double the actual call count.
Solution: Always filter on Operation == "SentinelAIToolRunCompleted" for call counts, duration analysis, and error analysis. Use SentinelAIToolRunStarted only when investigating specific timing sequences or queue behavior.
Data Lake MCP ExecutionDuration Format
Problem: The ExecutionDuration field in RawEventData is stored as a string (e.g., "2.4731712"), not a numeric type. Aggregation functions (avg, max) will fail without conversion.
Solution: Use todouble(RawData.ExecutionDuration) to convert before aggregation.
Sentinel Engine False Association
Problem: The Sentinel analytics engine (fc780465-2017-40d4-a0c5-307022471b92) generates the highest query volume in most workspaces but is NOT an MCP server. Including it in MCP totals would massively inflate the numbers.
Solution: ALWAYS label Sentinel Engine and Logic Apps Connector as "Platform (Non-MCP)" in reports. The MCP proportion calculation MUST exclude these from the MCP numerator.
SigninLogs Status Field Needs parse_json() in Data Lake
Problem: The Status column in SigninLogs / AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs is a dynamic field containing {errorCode, failureReason, additionalDetails}, but Data Lake workspaces may store it as a string. Using dot-notation (Status.errorCode) without parse_json() causes parser errors (Expected: ;) or SemanticErrors.
Solution: Always use tostring(parse_json(Status).errorCode) — same pattern as DeviceDetail, LocationDetails, and ConditionalAccessPolicies. This works regardless of whether the column is stored as dynamic or string. Query 3 was fixed for this in Feb 2026.
Type Column Unavailable in Data Lake Union Contexts
Problem: The Type pseudo-column (table name) is NOT resolvable in union queries executed via Sentinel Data Lake. Using summarize by Type in a union SigninLogs, AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs query fails with SemanticError: Failed to resolve scalar expression named 'Type'.
Solution: When you need to distinguish source tables in a union, add | extend TableName = "SigninLogs" (or "AADNonInteractive") within each union leg before the union operator. Then summarize by TableName. This is already handled in Query 13 via the SignInType field pattern (extend SignInType = "Interactive" / "Non-Interactive"), but ad-hoc summary variants must use the extend approach — never Type.
Non-Interactive Sign-In Noise
Problem: AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs may contain Logic Apps connector activity (de8c33bb) that looks like user activity but is automated.
Solution: When reporting Sentinel MCP auth events from SigninLogs, distinguish interactive (user-initiated) from non-interactive (automated) sources. The LogicApps connector is NOT MCP — exclude it from MCP auth counts.
AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs Commonly on Data Lake Tier
Problem: Many customers place AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs on Data Lake (or Basic) tier. When this table is NOT on Analytics tier, any Advanced Hunting query that unions SigninLogs + AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs fails with MPC -32600: The query should contain a single Basic or Auxiliary table or silently returns incomplete/unsorted data. This affects Query 1 (daily trend) and Query 6 (Triage MCP auth) in this skill.
Solution: All queries that union SigninLogs + AADNonInteractiveUserSignInLogs in this skill MUST use mcp_sentinel-data_query_lake instead of RunAdvancedHuntingQuery. Data Lake handles cross-table unions natively and works regardless of which tier each table is on. When running via Data Lake, CloudAppEvents uses TimeGenerated (not Timestamp as in AH). Queries 1, 6, and 15 are already configured for Data Lake.
Off-Hours Timezone Uncertainty
Problem: TimeGenerated is always UTC, but "off-hours" has different meaning depending on the user's timezone. A UTC 06:00 call might be 22:00 local or 14:00 local.
Solution: Default to UTC for off-hours calculation. If the user's timezone is known from sign-in data (LocationDetails), adjust. Always state the timezone assumption in the report.
Multi-Tenant Token Confusion
Problem: Azure MCP Server uses DefaultAzureCredential and may authenticate against the wrong tenant if multiple credentials are cached, causing queries to fail or return data from an unexpected tenant.
Solution: Read config.json for the azure_mcp.tenant parameter. When making Azure MCP Server calls, always pass the tenant parameter explicitly. Note this risk in the report.
Rate Limiting Not Visible in Logs
Problem: Graph MCP Server is capped at 100 calls/min/user. If throttled, calls may not appear in logs (no log entry = no visibility).
Solution: If daily call counts show sudden drops to 0 after a high-volume period, note possible throttling. Check for 429 Too Many Requests response codes in Query 1 raw data.
SentinelAudit Table Availability
Problem: SentinelAudit requires Sentinel auditing and health monitoring to be enabled. It may not exist in all workspaces.
Solution: If SentinelAudit returns table-not-found, skip gracefully. Report: "⚠️ Sentinel auditing not enabled — cannot check configuration changes."
Error Handling
Common Issues
| Issue | Solution |
|---|
project ... as ErrorCode fails in AH | Advanced Hunting rejects as keyword in project. Use = syntax: ErrorCode = tostring(...). See Known Pitfalls. |
MPC -32600 error from Triage MCP | Transient error — retry once. If persistent, fall back to mcp_sentinel-data_query_lake. |
MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs table not found | Graph activity logs not enabled. Report gap, skip Graph MCP analysis, provide enablement link. |
LAQueryLogs table not found | Diagnostic settings not configured on LA workspace. Report gap, skip governance analysis. |
SentinelAudit table not found | Sentinel health monitoring not enabled. Report gap, skip config change analysis. |
AzureActivity returns 0 results | No ARM operations in the time range, or no administrative actions by the specified user. |
| SigninLogs returns 0 for Sentinel Platform Services | No one authenticated to Sentinel MCP in the time range. Report as "✅ No Sentinel MCP authentication events detected." |
CloudAppEvents table not found | Purview unified audit not available (requires E5 license). Report gap: "⚠️ CloudAppEvents not available — cannot monitor Data Lake MCP usage. Requires Microsoft 365 E5 or Purview audit." Skip Phase 3 (Data Lake MCP). |
| CloudAppEvents returns 0 for Sentinel operations | No Data Lake MCP or Direct KQL activity in the time range. Report as "✅ No Sentinel Data Lake activity detected in CloudAppEvents." |
ActionType has "Sentinel" returns 0 but data exists | CamelCase bug — use contains instead of has for ActionType matching. See Known Pitfalls. |
Operation has "Completed" drops MCP events silently | Same CamelCase bug — has "Completed" returns false for ALL CamelCase operations (SentinelAIToolRunCompleted, KQLQueryCompleted). MCP events (RecordType 403) are silently dropped; Direct KQL survives only via OR RecordType == 379 fallback. Use contains "Completed". See Known Pitfalls. |
RawEventData.ToolName returns empty | Double-parse required: use parse_json(tostring(RawEventData)) then extract fields. See Known Pitfalls. |
| Query timeout | Reduce lookback from 30d to 7d, or add ` |
| Unknown AppId in LAQueryLogs | Cross-reference with Entra ID > App Registrations. May be a custom MCP server or third-party tool. |
| Multiple workspaces available | Follow workspace selection rules — STOP, list all, ASK user, WAIT. |
| Azure MCP calls indistinguishable from CLI | Partially resolved: AppId 04b07795 is shared with Azure CLI. Use `\n |
Validation Checklist
Before presenting results, verify:
Prerequisites
For complete MCP server monitoring, ensure these data sources are enabled:
| Data Source | Enabling Documentation | Required For |
|---|
| Microsoft Graph activity logs | Enable Graph activity logs | Graph MCP analysis (Queries 1-2, 5, 9) |
| CloudAppEvents (Purview unified audit) | Requires M365 E5 license; enable Sentinel Data Lake auditing | Data Lake MCP analysis (Queries 10-12) |
| Sentinel auditing and health monitoring | Enable Sentinel monitoring | Config change detection (ad-hoc SentinelAudit queries) |
| LAQueryLogs (diagnostic settings) | Configure diagnostic settings on LA workspace | Workspace governance (Queries 7, 8, 14) |
| AzureActivity | Enabled by default for ARM operations | Azure MCP analysis (ad-hoc ARM queries) |
| SigninLogs | Entra ID diagnostic settings | Sentinel MCP auth events (Queries 3-4, 6, 13) |
| Purview audit logs | Included with E5 license | CloudAppEvents ingestion — required for Data Lake MCP monitoring (Queries 10-12). RecordType 403 (AI Tool) and 379 (KQL) |
If any prerequisite is not met, the skill will report the gap and skip the affected analysis sections.
Cross-References
- KQL Jobs for proactive alerting:
queries/identity/mcp_anomaly_detection_kql_jobs.md — Scheduled Data Lake jobs that promote MCP anomalies to analytics tier for automated Sentinel alerting
- Main skill registry:
.github/copilot-instructions.md — Skill detection and global rules
- Scope drift analysis:
.github/skills/scope-drift-detection/SKILL.md — Can be run on MCP-related service principals for behavioral drift detection
- Sentinel Data Lake auditing: Auditing lake activities — Official docs on RecordType 403/379 audit events in CloudAppEvents
- Sentinel MCP tool collections: Tool collection overview — Data Exploration, Triage, and Security Copilot Agent Creation collections
- Sentinel MCP custom tools: Create custom MCP tools — Expose saved KQL queries as MCP tools
- Copilot Studio MCP catalog: Built-in MCP servers — 19+ Microsoft-managed MCP servers for agent development
- Azure MCP Server tools: Available tools — Full Azure MCP Server tool catalog (40+ namespaces)
- Power BI MCP: Remote endpoint at
https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/mcp/powerbi, Modeling at microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcp
- Fabric RTI MCP: Fabric RTI MCP overview | GitHub
- Playwright MCP: GitHub — Browser automation MCP (26.9k ⭐, local only)
- AI Agent Posture:
.github/skills/ai-agent-posture/SKILL.md — Comprehensive Copilot Studio agent security audit (for Agent Identity analysis, use this skill instead)
SVG Dashboard Generation
📊 Optional post-report step. After an MCP Usage report is generated, the user can request a visual SVG dashboard.
Trigger phrases: "generate SVG dashboard", "create a visual dashboard", "visualize this report", "SVG from the report"
How to Request a Dashboard
- Same chat: "Generate an SVG dashboard from the report" — data is already in context.
- New chat: Attach or reference the report file, e.g.
#file:reports/mcp-usage/MCP_Usage_Report_<workspace>_<date>.md
- Customization: Edit svg-widgets.yaml before requesting — the renderer reads it at generation time.
Execution
Step 1: Read svg-widgets.yaml (this skill's widget manifest)
Step 2: Read .github/skills/svg-dashboard/SKILL.md (rendering rules — Manifest Mode)
Step 3: Read the completed report file (data source)
Step 4: Render SVG → save to reports/mcp-usage/{report_name}_dashboard.svg
The YAML manifest is the single source of truth for layout, widgets, field mappings, colors, and data source documentation. All customization happens there.
