Incident Response

A cybersecurity incident response, also known as Incident response is a structured and well-defined process of an organization that is followed to detect, contain, eradicate, and recover from a security incident.

In our recent ScaletoZero podcast episode with Pablo Vidal, Pablo simplifies the idea of Incident detection and response by saying “Cloud security and product security are mostly going to be focused on the preventative controls. What can we do to stop something from happening?”

This statement alone is enough to understand that incident response aims to protect organizations from cyberattacks before they can even occur. All the required incident response processes and technologies are defined in a typical Incident Response Plan (IRP) that explains how different incidents are handled. According to IBM; the global average cost of cyber attacks has risen to USD 4.5 million in 2023.

“Being able to have a detection and response team that not only takes care in case of incidents but also works throughout the SDLC for smooth processing is one of the most critical tasks for organizations today”, says Pablo. In general, detecting and responding to security incidents is found to be a challenge for all organizations despite having a strong incident response plan. We have tried to explore this area upfront and listed below some of the most common obstacles that organizations face;

• Cybercriminals are constantly exploring new areas and sophisticated methods and tools to bypass traditional security defense systems.
• Zero-day exploits: New vulnerabilities (Zero-day exploits) are discovered regularly, leaving organizations vulnerable until a patch is developed and deployed.
• Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs): These targeted attacks employ sophisticated techniques to gain access to a network without getting detected for long periods and steal sensitive data.

• Log overload: Security systems generate vast amounts of logs which makes it difficult to identify anomalies and potential security breaches.
• Unmonitored systems: Legacy systems or internet-of-things (IoT) devices might not be adequately monitored for suspicious activity.
• Shadow IT: Unapproved use of cloud services or personal devices creates blind spots in the security monitoring landscape.

• Skilled cybersecurity professionals: The cybersecurity skills gap is a growing challenge for organizations to find and retain qualified cybersecurity professionals to manage incident response activities.
• Limited budget: Stakeholders may not allocate sufficient resources for security tools, training programs, and incident response teams.
• Alert Fatigue: Security analysts bombarded with a constant stream of alerts might miss critical indicators of a security incident. Having a valuable security tool like ours can help your security teams prioritize alerts based on their risk appetite.

• Dwell time: The time it takes to detect a security incident can be significant, allowing attackers to inflict more damage.
• Manual processes: Businesses are relying on manual detection of security alerts. This is enough to slow down the response time and hinder efforts to contain incidents.
• Lack of decision-making: Uncertainty about the nature and severity of an incident can lead to delays in implementing a response strategy.

• Internal silos: Lack of communication between internal departments can affect the effectiveness of the IR process.
• External Communication: Organizations might struggle with communicating effectively with law enforcement, regulatory bodies, and affected individuals in case of a data breach.
• Unclear roles and responsibilities: Not setting clear roles and responsibilities within the incident response team can lead to confusion and delays during a security incident.

• Bad Actors: Employees with authorized access to systems pose significant threats by intentionally stealing data, disrupting operations, or installing malware.
• Negligence: Unintentional activities such as clicking on phishing links or not following security protocols, can create vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit.

• Developing an Incident Response Plan: This document outlines roles, responsibilities, communication protocols, and detailed steps to take in case of a security incident. The steps need to be tailored to the organization's specific needs and industry regulations.
• Training Staff: Security team leaders need to regularly train employees (security teams as well as engineering teams) on security awareness, including how to identify and report security incidents. Team leaders may consider using phishing simulations to test employee preparedness.
• Test the IRP: Testing the IRP generally includes conducting periodic simulations or tabletop exercises to test the effectiveness of the IR plan. This helps identify any weaknesses in the plan and allows for improvement before facing a real incident.

• Monitoring: Continuously monitor system and network activity for any suspicious behavior. Organizations can use tools like CNAPP, SIEMs, firewalls, etc.
• Log analysis: Security analysts regularly review logs generated by security systems and applications to identify potential anomalies or security events that might indicate an incident.
• Employee Reporting: Encourage employees to report any suspicious activity they encounter, such as unusual login attempts, phishing emails, or unexpected system behavior.

• Short-term containment: Focus on controlling the present threat from spreading by isolating affected devices. This is usually done by taking affected devices offline.
• Long-term containment: In this process, unaffected devices are applied with more secure standards and security controls.
• Security teams may also disable employee email IDs to stop them from accidentally clicking on any malicious links.

• Investigate the incident: Analyze the incident to understand its scope, root cause, and potential impact. Conduct a forensic investigation to gather evidence and identify the attackers' methods and tools used.
• Eradicate the threat: Either you can remove the malware or exploit the vulnerability that caused the incident. This might involve patching vulnerabilities, disinfecting systems, resetting compromised accounts, and implementing additional security controls.

• Restore systems and data: Restore affected systems and data from backups to resume normal operations as quickly as possible. Prioritize critical systems and data for faster recovery, ensuring business continuity.
• Post-Incident Review: Conduct a comprehensive post-incident review to analyze the response, identify areas for improvement in the IR plan, and implement corrective actions to prevent similar incidents in the future. This review should involve all stakeholders involved in the response effort.

• Detection and Reporting: Any member of the organization can report a security case if they notice suspicious behavior or something unusual.
• Initial Review: The detection response team reviews the reported case to determine whether it is a genuine security incident.
• Investigation: If deemed a security incident, the team begins a thorough investigation to understand the nature and scope of the issue.
• Prioritization: The incident is then prioritized based on its severity. This helps in determining the urgency and the resources needed for the response.
• Flowchart: The response follows a structured flowchart that outlines:
• Involvement: Identifying and involving the right personnel based on the incident's severity.
• Steps and Actions: Detailing the steps required to address the incident.
• Containment Plan: Developing and executing a plan to contain the incident.
• External Involvement: Adding external experts if necessary, depending on the incident type.

• Creating incident reports and folders
• Defining roles and communication channels
• Following pre-defined response plans

• Log Schema Inference: The detection and response teams use generative AI to analyze log samples and automatically infer the optimal schema for ingesting data from new log sources. This reduces manual configuration and streamlines data integration.
• Automated Knowledge Base Creation: The InfraSec team is experimenting with GenAI to build a "junior" team member who can automatically answer common security questions posed on Slack channels. This bot would gather information from various sources (e.g., Confluence) to provide automated responses, like how to manage secrets. Ultimately, this would free up the team's time for more complex tasks.