4.8 Explain Appropriate Incident Response Activities
Effective incident response is governed by formal policies and procedures.
Policies and procedures delineate roles and responsibilities for the incident response team.
Importance of adherence to assigned roles within the incident response team for optimal effectiveness.
Understanding Cybersecurity Incidents
Definition of a Cybersecurity Incident:
Refers to a successful or attempted violation of security properties of an asset.
Compromises confidentiality, integrity, or availability of that asset.
Incident Response (IR) Policy:
Establishes resources, processes, and guidelines for addressing cybersecurity incidents.
Requires each incident to be managed following a process lifecycle.
CompTIA's Incident Response Lifecycle
Seven-Step Incident Response Process:
Preparation:
Involves measures to enhance system resilience against attacks.
Actions include hardening systems, creating policies, and securing communication lines.
Development of incident response resources and procedures.
Detection:
Activity involves identifying indicators of threat actor activity.
Detection can be automated via intrusion detection systems or by manual threat hunting.
Reports can originate from employees, customers, or law enforcement.
Analysis:
Determines if an incident occurred and assesses its severity through triage methods.
Containment:
Limits scope and magnitude of the incident to secure data.
Involves notifying stakeholders and fulfilling reporting requirements.
Eradication:
Removal of the cause and restoration of affected systems to a secure state.
May require applying secure configurations and installing patches.
Recovery:
Reintegration of the system back into business processes post-eradication.
Might include restoring data from backups and continual monitoring for attacks.
Lessons Learned:
Analyzes incidents and responses to improve future procedures.
Importance of documentation for feedback mechanisms to enhance preparation processes.
Incident Response Coordination
Complexity of Incident Response:
Multiple departments or managers might need to coordinate during incident response.
Phases are specifically focused on cybersecurity incidents, separate from major incidents managed by disaster recovery processes.
Preparation for Incident Response
Establishing Policies and Procedures:
Continuous updates and management of policies for security breaches.
Provisioning personnel and resources essential for incident management.
Cybersecurity Infrastructure Components:
Incident Detection Tools:
Automate the collection and analysis of network traffic, system state, and logs.
Digital Forensics Tools:
Assist in acquiring and validating data from system memory and file systems for evidence or prosecution.
Case Management Tools:
Facilitate logging of incident details and coordination among team responders.
Often implemented as a product suite including SIEM and SOAR for alerting and monitoring.
Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT)
Team Composition:
Composed of members with diverse security competencies (CIRT, CSIRT, CERT).
Teams may operate within a Security Operations Center (SOC).
Leadership: Senior executive responsible for authorization following serious incidents.
Roles within the Team:
Managers: Oversee daily operations and coordinate responses with other departments.
Analysts and Technicians: Handle minor incidents independently and prioritize cases.
Collaboration with Other Departments:
Legal: Ensures compliance with laws and regulations, liaises with law enforcement.
Human Resources (HR): Addresses employment impacts relating to incidents, underlying issues.
Public Relations: Manages public perception and external communications around incidents.
Communication in Incident Response
Critical Elements of Incident Communication:
Prevent unauthorized information release and manage adversary awareness.
Use of a formal Incident Response Plan (IRP) listing procedures, contacts, and resources.
Communication Plan Essentials:
Establish clear lines for reporting incidents and notifying involved parties.
Essential contact information and use of out-of-band communication methods.
Stakeholder Management:
Importance of controlled dissemination of incident details to avoid panic or misinformation.
Obligation to report incidents to affected parties and regulatory bodies.
Detection of Cybersecurity Incidents
Detection Process:
Correlating events from various data sources to detect indicators of an incident.
Sources of Detection Indicators:
Anomalies in log files, IDS alerts, error messages, manual site inspections, employee reports, and external threat reports.
Encourage confidential reporting mechanisms for employees to report threats without fear.
Role of First Responder:
Critical to notify the appropriate team member to take charge upon detection of suspicious events.
Analysis of Detected Incidents
First Responder Investigation:
Determine whether a genuine incident has occurred and assign priority.
Classify incidents as true positives or false positives based on correlating indicators.
Impact Determination Factors:
Data Integrity: Considered the top priority based on the value of at-risk data.
Downtime: Evaluates incident disruptions—whether it degrades or interrupts availability.
Economic/Publicity Considerations: Assess immediate and long-term costs of the incident.
Scope: Number of affected systems as it relates to incident priority.
Detection and Recovery Times: Need for prompt detection and effective recovery measures.
Incident Category and Definitions:
Shared understanding of terms among response team members critical for effectiveness and effective use of threat intelligence.