<!-- Copyright (c) 2026 defconxt. All rights reserved. -->
<!-- Licensed under AGPL-3.0 — see LICENSE file for details. -->
---
name: performing-detection-rule-optimization
description: >-
  Optimize detection rule performance including query efficiency,
  resource reduction, alert deduplication, correlation improvement,
  and SIEM workload management.
domain: cybersecurity
subdomain: detection-engineering
tags:
  - rule-optimization
  - query-performance
  - resource-reduction
  - deduplication
  - correlation-tuning
  - siem-performance
version: "1.0"
author: defconxt
license: AGPL-3.0
metadata:
  mitre-attack: []
---

# Performing Detection Rule Optimization

## Overview

Detection rule optimization ensures rules run efficiently without
overwhelming SIEM resources. Covers query performance tuning, resource
reduction, alert deduplication, and workload management.

## Prerequisites

| Requirement | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SIEM admin access | Query performance metrics and resource monitoring |
| Rule inventory | Active rules with performance data |
| Search benchmarks | Baseline query execution times |

## Key Concepts

### Rule Optimization Framework

```python
optimization_targets = {
    "query_performance": {
        "max_execution_time_seconds": 30,
        "preferred_time_seconds": 5,
        "techniques": ["field_extraction_at_index", "avoid_wildcards", "use_tstats"],
    },
    "resource_usage": {
        "max_concurrent_searches": 50,
        "stagger_interval_seconds": 30,
        "priority_tiers": {"critical": 1, "high": 3, "medium": 5, "low": 10},
    },
    "alert_volume": {
        "max_alerts_per_hour": 100,
        "dedup_window_minutes": 15,
        "aggregation_fields": ["src_ip", "dest_ip", "user"],
    },
}
```

## Workflow

1. **Profile performance** — Measure query execution times and resource usage
2. **Identify bottlenecks** — Find slow queries and resource-heavy rules
3. **Optimize queries** — Rewrite for efficiency using SIEM best practices
4. **Implement dedup** — Add aggregation and deduplication logic
5. **Stagger schedules** — Distribute rule execution to avoid spikes
6. **Validate results** — Verify optimization maintains detection accuracy
7. **Monitor ongoing** — Continuous performance tracking and alerting

## Verification

| Check | Method |
|---|---|
| Workflow completed | All steps executed and documented |
| Output validated | Results match expected format and content |
| Quality assured | Peer review or automated validation passed |

## References

- [NIST Cybersecurity Framework](https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework)
- [MITRE ATT&CK](https://attack.mitre.org/)
