How XSIAM detection actually fires: XQL triggers, real-time vs scheduled, and the alert pipeline.

Every detection in Cortex XSIAM is triggered by an XQL query, either continuously against the live data stream (real-time) or on a schedule. Understanding which one your rules use changes how you scope, tune, and pay for detection work.

5 min read·Cortex XSIAM

Cortex XSIAM ships hundreds of detection rules already mapped to MITRE ATT&CK and tuned by Palo Alto Networks against telemetry from across their customer base. The work in week one is enabling the right ones, not authoring from scratch.

When a deployment SOW prices six weeks of rule tuning, half of that scope is reading the OOTB ruleset, deciding which to enable, and toggling them on. That work is genuinely valuable, but it is hours, not weeks. The other half, customizing rules to your environment specific noise, is real engineering and worth your partner full rate.

The trap is letting both halves get billed at the same engineering rate. Your team sees a six-week scope, assumes it is all custom work, and pays accordingly.

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Takeaways

→Real-time correlation rules fire against the live event stream and can only generate issues; they cannot write to datasets or lookups.
→Scheduled rules run on a cadence (cron-expressible) and can write to datasets, lookups, or feed them back as enrichment.
→Cortex auto-disables a rule that fires 5,000+ times in 24 hours; build a 'rule fired ratio' widget to catch this.
→A healthy mix: ~30-40% real-time for time-sensitive detections, the rest scheduled for broader patterns.
→Bring a partner in for multi-source joins, external enrichment, or compliance-regulated detection authoring.

Source: What's a correlation rule (Palo Alto Networks docs)Last verified Apr 26, 2026

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“Can you split the rule scope into two phases? Phase one is enablement of the OOTB ruleset against my environment, ideally on a flat-rate or fixed-fee basis. Phase two is authoring custom rules where the OOTB set has gaps, billed hourly.”

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