Malicious File Detection & Response: Wazuh to VirusTotal with Slack Alerts

Last edited 58 days ago

Malicious File Detection & Threat Summary Automation using Wazuh + VirusTotal + n8n

This workflow helps SOC teams automate the detection and reporting of potentially malicious files using Wazuh alerts, VirusTotal hash validation, and integrated summary/report generation. It's ideal for analysts who want instant context and communication for file-based threats — without writing a single line of code.


What It Does

When Wazuh detects a suspicious file:

  • Ingests Wazuh Alert
    A webhook node captures incoming alerts containing file hashes (SHA256/MD5).

  • Parses IOCs
    Extracts relevant indicators (file hash, filename, etc.).

  • Validates with VirusTotal
    Automatically checks the file hash reputation using VirusTotal's threat intelligence API.

  • Generates Human-Readable Summary
    Outputs a structured file report.

  • Routes Alerts Based on Threat Level

    • Sends a formatted email with the file summary using Gmail.
    • If the file is deemed malicious/suspicious:
      • Creates a file-related incident ticket.
      • Sends an instant Slack alert to notify the team.

Tech Stack Used

  • Wazuh – For endpoint alerting
  • VirusTotal API – For real-time hash validation
  • n8n – To orchestrate, parse, enrich, and communicate
  • Slack, Gmail, Incident Tool – To notify and take action

Ideal Use Case

This template is designed for security teams looking to automate file threat triage, IOC validation, and alert-to-ticket escalation, with zero human delay.


Included Nodes

  • Webhook (Wazuh)
  • Function (IOC extraction and summary)
  • HTTP Request (VirusTotal)
  • If / Switch (threat level check)
  • Gmail, Slack, Incident Creation

Tips

  • Make sure to add your VirusTotal API key in the HTTP node.
  • Customize the incident creation node to fit your ticketing platform (Jira, ServiceNow, etc.).
  • Add logic to enrich the file alert further using WHOIS or sandbox reports if needed.

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