Configuring Forbidden Countries for User Behavior Analytics (UBA) Context in Veridium Manager

Introduction:

Veridium Manager's User Behavior Analytics (UBA) Context now includes a feature to designate specific countries as "forbidden" for user authentications. This allows administrators to enhance security by flagging authentication attempts originating from potentially high-risk locations. This document explains how to configure forbidden countries and the impact on UBA scoring.

Purpose:

The "List of forbidden countries for a tenant" setting enables administrators to:

• Identify and monitor authentication attempts from designated high-risk countries.

• Improve security posture by leveraging UBA to detect potentially suspicious activity.

• Gain insights into authentication patterns and potential security threats through UBA scoring.

Configuration Location:

The "List of forbidden countries for a tenant" setting is located Settings / Uba Settings.

Configuration Details:

• Setting Name: "List of forbidden countries for a tenant"

• Data Format: The setting uses ISO-3166 standard country codes.

• Configuration File: The setting is also represented by the parameter "listOfForbiddenCountries" within the config.json file.

• Example: "listOfForbiddenCountries": [ "RU", "KP", "RO" ]

Configuration Process:

1. Admin UI:

   • Within the "UBA Settings" page, enter the desired ISO-3166 country codes into the provided field.

   • Save the changes.

2. config.json (Advanced):

   • Directly edit the Settings / Advanced / config.json file, updating the "listOfForbiddenCountries" parameter with the desired country codes.

   • Save the changes.

3. API Update:

   • When the list is updated, the system will automatically call the existing UBA API endpoint updateTenantProperties with the new list of forbidden countries.

Functional Impact on UBA:

• The "List of forbidden countries" acts as a new UBA criteria, similar to other factors used in UBA scoring.

• Authentication attempts from a forbidden country will negatively impact the user's UBA score.

• The system will display the reason "ACTIVITY_FROM_FORBIDDEN_COUNTRY" in the session details for those authentications.

• If a user performs multiple authentications from a forbidden country, the UBA system will learn the users behaviour, and over time will consider it valid, and the UBA score will return to a green score.

• Administrators can monitor UBA scores and alerts from the dashboard to identify potentially suspicious activity.

Example Scenario:

• If "RO" (Romania) is included in the list of forbidden countries, and a user attempts to authenticate from Romania, their UBA score will lead to rejection (and as a consequence a second authentication method will be asked from user as a safe measure)

• The session details will include the "ACTIVITY_FROM_FORBIDDEN_COUNTRY" reason.

Important Considerations:

• Use accurate ISO-3166 country codes to ensure proper functionality.

• Regularly review and update the list of forbidden countries based on evolving security threats.

• Understand that UBA is a learning system, and repeated logins from forbidden countries will eventually be considered normal activity.

Troubleshooting:

• Forbidden country authentications are not being flagged:

  • Verify that the country codes are entered correctly in the "UBA Settings" or config.json.

  • Ensure that the UBA service is functioning correctly.

• Incorrect UBA scoring:

  • Remember that UBA is a learning system, and repeated activity will adjust the scoring.

  • Review the UBA score reasons in the session details for more information.

Last updated: May 15, 2025