> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex-cloud-runtime-security/threat-management/detection-rules/what-are-detection-rules/whats-an-ioc.md).
# What's an IOC?
Indicators of compromise (IOCs) enable Cortex Cloud to generate issues about known malicious objects on endpoints across the organization. You can load collections of IOCs from threat-intelligence sources into Cortex Cloud or define them individually.
{% hint style="info" %}
### Note
Cortex Cloud supports a maximum of 4,000,000 IOCs.
{% endhint %}
You can define the following types of IOCs:
* Full path
* File name
* Domain
* Destination IP address
* MD5 hash
* SHA256 hash
After you load or define IOCs, the tenant checks for matches in the xdr\_data dataset that contains all the information collected about the endpoints and the network. Cortex Cloud looks for IOC matches in all data collected in the past and continues to evaluate any new data it receives in the future.
Issues for IOCs are identified by the source type of the IOC.
### **IOC rule details**
In the **Threat Management** → **Detection Rules** → **IOC** page, you can view all configured or uploaded indicators of compromise (IOCs). To view the number of IOC rules, filter by one or more fields in the IOC rules table. You can also manage or clone existing rules.
The following table describes the fields that are available for each IOC rule in alphabetical order.
| Field | Description |
| ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **# OF ISSUES** | The number of issues generated by this indicator. |
| **BACKWARDS SCAN STATUS** | Status of the Cortex Cloud search for the first 10,000 matches when the IOC rule was created or edited. Status can be:
|
| **BACKWARDS SCAN TIMESTAMP** | Timestamp of the Cortex Cloud search for the first 10,000 matches in your Cortex Cloud when the IOC rule was created or edited. |
| **BACKWARDS SCAN RETRIES** | Number of times Cortex Cloud searched for the first 10,000 matches in your Cortex Cloud when the IOC rule was created or edited. |
| **CLASS** | The IOC's class. For example, 'Malware'.**Note**Field cannot exceed 36 characters. |
| **COMMENT** | Free-form comments specified when the IOC was created or modified. |
| **EXPIRATION DATE** | The date and time at which the IOC will be removed automatically. |
| **INDICATOR** | The indicator value itself. For example, if the indicator type is a destination IP address, this could be an IP address such as 1.1.1.1. |
| **INSERTION DATE** | Date and time when the IOC was created. |
| **MODIFICATION DATE** | Date and time when the IOC was last modified. |
| **RELIABILITY** | Indicator's reliability level:
- A - Completely Reliable
- B - Usually Reliable
- C - Fairly Reliable
- D - Not Usually Reliable
- E - Unreliable
|
| **REPUTATION** | Indicator's reputation level. One of Unknown, Good, Bad, or Suspicious. |
| **RULE ID** | Unique identification number for the rule. |
| **SEVERITY** | IOC severity that was defined when the IOC was created. |
| **SOURCE** | User who created this IOC, or the file name from which it was created, or one of the following keywords:
- Public API—the indicator was uploaded using the Insert Simple Indicators, CSV or Insert Simple Indicators, JSON REST APIs.
- XSOAR TIM—the indicator was retrieved from XSOAR.
|
| **STATUS** | Enabled or Disabled. |
| **TYPE** | Type of indicator: Full path, File name, Host name, Destination IP, MD5 hash. |
| **VENDORS** | A list of threat intelligence vendors from which this IOC was obtained. |
---
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