Cloud Incident Response

Responding to Security Incidents in AWS, Azure and GCP

As organizations continue to adopt cloud computing, the importance of having a solid incident response plan in place becomes increasingly crucial. Cloud environments, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), offer numerous benefits, including scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. However, with these benefits come new challenges, particularly when it comes to security and responding to incidents.

We’ve built a platform to automate incident response and forensics in AWS, Azure and GCP — you can deploy it from the AWS Marketplace here. You can also download a free playbook we’ve written on how to respond to security incidents in AWS.

In this blog, we will discuss the key considerations for responding to security incidents in the major cloud platforms: AWS, Azure, and GCP.

*Steps for Responding to a Cloud Incident *

• Identify the incident
  The first step in responding to a security incident is to identify that an incident has occurred. This may involve monitoring logs and alerts, as well as receiving notifications from third-party tools or services. It's important to have clear procedures in place for identifying and reporting incidents, as well as for escalating them to the appropriate team or individual.

• Contain the incident
  Once an incident has been identified, the next step is to contain it to prevent further damage. This may involve shutting down compromised resources, blocking malicious traffic, or taking other measures to isolate the affected systems. It's important to act quickly and decisively to minimize the impact of the incident.

• Investigate the incident
  After the incident has been contained, the next step is to investigate and determine the root cause. This may involve reviewing logs, analyzing network traffic, and conducting forensic analyses of affected systems. The goal is to understand what happened, how the incident occurred, and what steps can be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.

• Remediate the incident
  Once the root cause of the incident has been identified, it's time to take steps to remediate the issue and restore affected systems to their normal state. This may involve patching vulnerabilities, updating software, and deploying new security controls. It's important to work with the relevant teams and follow established procedures to ensure that the remediation process is thorough and effective.

• Communicate about the incident
  Effective communication is critical during an incident response. This may involve updating stakeholders and customers, as well as documenting the incident and the steps taken to address it. It's important to be transparent and provide regular updates to ensure that all parties are informed and can take appropriate action.

Responding to Incidents in AWS

AWS offers a range of tools and services to help organizations respond to security incidents. These include Amazon GuardDuty, a threat detection service that uses machine learning to identify potential security threats, and Amazon Inspector, a vulnerability assessment tool that helps identify and remediate security vulnerabilities.

AWS also offers the AWS Security Hub, a central location for managing and responding to security alerts from multiple sources. This includes alerts from AWS services, as well as from third-party tools and services. The Security Hub provides a single view of all security alerts, making it easier to prioritize and respond to incidents.

In addition to these tools, AWS provides extensive documentation and best practices for responding to security incidents. This includes guidelines for identifying and responding to incidents, as well as for conducting investigations and remediating issues.

When a deviation from your secure baseline occurs, it’s crucial to respond and resolve the issue quickly and follow up with a forensic investigation and root cause analysis. Having a preconfigured infrastructure and a practiced plan for using it when there’s a deviation from your baseline will help you to extract and analyze the information needed to determine the impact, scope, and root cause of an incident and return to operations confidently.
From (and for more see) https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/forensic-investigation-environment-strategies-in-the-aws-cloud/

Responding to Incidents in Azure

Microsoft Azure provides a range of tools and services to help organizations respond to security incidents. These include Azure Security Center, a centralized security management platform that provides alerts and recommendations for addressing potential threats.

Azure also offers Azure Sentinel, a cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) solution that helps organizations detect and respond to threats in real-time.

Protect the organization's information, as well as its reputation, by developing and implementing an incident response infrastructure (e.g., plans, defined roles, training, communications, management oversight) for quickly discovering an attack and then effectively containing the damage, eradicating the attacker's presence, and restoring the integrity of the network and systems.
From (and for more see) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/benchmark/azure/security-control-incident-response

Responding to Incidents in GCP/Google Cloud
Google Cloud provides a range of tools and services to help organizations respond to security incidents. Some examples include:

Cloud Security Command Center: This is a centralized security management platform that provides visibility into an organization's Google Cloud environment, including real-time notifications of security threats and vulnerabilities.
https://cloud.google.com/security-command-center

Cloud Identity and Access Management: This service provides fine-grained control over who has access to what resources within an organization's Google Cloud environment. It can be used to quickly revoke access to compromised accounts or limit access to sensitive resources.
https://cloud.google.com/iam

Cloud Audit Logs: This service provides a record of activity within an organization's Google Cloud environment, including API calls, system events, and policy changes. This can be useful for investigating security incidents and identifying the root cause of an issue.
https://cloud.google.com/logging/docs/audit

Cloud Data Loss Prevention API: This service helps organizations detect and classify sensitive data within their Google Cloud environment, including personally identifiable information (PII) and intellectual property. It can be used to prevent data leaks and protect against data exfiltration.
https://cloud.google.com/dlp

Cloud Security Scanner: This service helps organizations identify vulnerabilities in their Google Cloud environment, including misconfigurations, missing patches, and insecure libraries. It can be used to proactively identify and address potential security issues.
https://cloud.google.com/security-command-center/docs/concepts-web-security-scanner-overview