Effective Cloud Incident Response: How to tackle and solve common challenges?

At the recent Bsides Las Vegas security conference, Roei Sherman, Field CTO at Mitiga, and Adi Belinkov, Director of IT and Security at Mitiga, delivered a sobering message to security professionals: “Attacking cloud instances is significantly easier, and defending them is much more challenging compared to on-premise networks.”

The absence of a clearly defined perimeter in cloud environments creates a challenging situation for security teams because there is a lack of control and expanded attack surface area. According to Cado Security research, 65% of organizations experience 3-5 days delays when investigating incidents in the cloud compared to on-premise environments. This lack of a defined perimeter gives hackers an advantage, where they can simply exploit cloud admin credentials to gain unauthorized access. The attackers do not need to navigate network boundaries or seek out additional vulnerabilities.

While cloud incident response presents significant challenges, understanding the shared responsibility model, protecting cloud identities, and adhering to best practices can make it a lot more manageable.

Let’s dive deeper into these issues and explore solutions to provide you with a clearer picture.

What is cloud incident response?

Cloud incident response is the process of identifying and responding to security incidents within the cloud environment to ensure minimal disruption and quick recovery when a cyber attack or incident occurs. It helps organizations execute an incident response plan that is specially tailored to their cloud environments.

Why is cloud incident response important?

Cloud incident response is crucial to enable a well-coordinated and timely reaction to cyber incidents within cloud environments. By swiftly addressing breaches or system compromises, organizations can contain damage, protect sensitive information, and ensure business continuity with minimal downtime.

An effective cloud incident response plan is a key component of a robust cybersecurity strategy. It fortifies the organization’s defenses and protects it against financial losses, reputational damage, and operational disruptions. This translates into enhanced client trust and a strong security posture in this dynamic landscape.

Difference between cloud incident response and traditional incident response

The key difference between traditional and cloud incident response is that the former is characterized by physical access and static consoles that provide greater control while the latter is web-based and dynamic, with rapid changes in response strategies.

Here are the four major differences between cloud IR and traditional IR:

1. Physical console vs. administrative console

In traditional setups, the physical console provides the incident response teams with direct access to hardware or physical servers. This allows for an in-depth forensic analysis during an incident as they can examine the storage devices and capture memory dumps. Additionally, troubleshooting and configuration management can be performed directly on-site, facilitating a more hands-on approach to incident response.

Cloud environments, on the other hand, rely on an administrative console which is a web-based interface for managing resources and identities. This centralized console becomes a key target for malicious attackers due to its excessive control over cloud services. At the same time, the remote nature of cloud management limits the ability of IRTs to perform direct forensic investigations on physical hardware.

2. Static vs dynamic infrastructure

Traditional environments feature static infrastructure where resources and configurations are stable and predictable. The stability simplifies the logging and monitoring, making it easier to gather and analyze evidence during an incident.

Alternatively, cloud environments are heterogeneous and dynamic. Based on real-time needs, the cloud resources can be easily scaled and deployed which means the services can change frequently. This dynamic nature can complicate logging and monitoring. Additionally, detailed logs in cloud environments may require additional payment, and log retention periods can be limited to manage costs. As a result, investigations can be more challenging due to the potential for incomplete or transient log data.

3. Fixed resources vs. scalability

In traditional environments, the scalability of incident response capabilities is limited due to fixed resources. Scaling of any kind requires additional investment in software or hardware which is time-consuming and costly.

Cloud incident response resources can enable scalability without manual intervention. The automation and elasticity allow organizations to adapt to evolving incident response demands without any extensive investments.

4. Reactive vs proactive measures

Traditional incident response relies heavily on reactive measures where remediation is triggered only after teams receive notifications for any anomalies. The identification process tends to be slower due to less integration and automation.

Cloud incident response adopts a more proactive approach. It leverages advanced security tools for real-time alerts and employs predictive analysis to identify threats and vulnerabilities before they escalate into significant issues. This proactive stance enables organizations to respond more effectively and swiftly to potential incidents.

How to prepare for cloud IR and report incidents effectively?

Cloud incident response is managed and reported in 4 phases: Preparation, Detection, Containment, eradication and recovery and Post-incident analysis.

Each stage has it’s own relevant steps and procedures.

Let’s look at the detailed steps:

Stage 1: Preparation

The preparation stage is meant for the pre-work to establish your incident response capabilities and do the necessary planning. It involves the following steps:

Understanding the current cloud environment

Understanding the cloud environment indicates analyzing the infrastructure, resources, service components, and deployment strategies. Since cloud services typically operate under a shared responsibility model, it’s important to comprehend the distinct responsibilities involved for both the cloud service provider and the organization.

Creation of an incident response plan

The incident response plan will include the scope and boundaries of incident handling and the types of incidents that will be covered. The plan will provide the exact steps to follow during an incident, from detection to response. It will also identify key stakeholders and define roles and responsibilities for IT staff, incident responders, legal and PR team.

Implementation of technical controls

The technical preparation requires you to build a pipeline of controls for minimizing cybersecurity incidents as well as identifying malicious activities. This will include installation of intrusion detection systems, firewalls, antivirus and backups as preventive measures. Next, there will be continuous monitoring of systems, regular risk assessments, cyber insurance and business continuity plans for comprehensive risk coverage.

Building communication channels

Communication plans and channels must be laid out in case of an emergency. The PR team must notify the relevant clients and partners to keep their trust and must regularly update them on restoration and recovery progress.

Training and testing

The cloud IR teams must be trained on the plan, which must then be tested through mock drills, tabletop exercises, and simulation exercises. Any loopholes must be reported to update the plan accordingly.

Stage 2: Detection

At this stage, continuous monitoring of the cloud environment occurs, with alerts and notifications sent during an incident or suspicious activity. The incident response (IR) teams will determine whether the alert is a false positive or if a genuine incident has occurred. This analysis involves gathering data from logs, metrics, and security tools to assess the validity of the incident.

Once the incident is identified, teams work to understand details such as the location, time, cause of the incident, and who discovered it first. The impact of the incident is assessed in terms of business and financial costs. Finally, evidence is collected for regulatory purposes and post-incident analysis.

Stage 3: Containment, eradication and recovery

Containment, eradication and recovery are response efforts and are guided by the type of incident and its severity.

• Containment measures help limit the spread of the incident by blocking malicious traffic or isolating the impacting systems.
• Eradication measures identify and remove the root cause of the incident to facilitate normal business operations
• Recovery measures ensure that the affected systems are carefully brought back to operations and are secure

Stage 4: Post-incident analysis

The post-incident stage involves a post-mortem analysis to understand what happened, why, and how efficiently the actions were taken. It helps curate the lessons learned, share them with stakeholders, and update the incident response playbooks for enhanced cloud IR capabilities.

Benefits of cloud incident response

The scalable environment and dynamic nature of cloud incident response allow organizations to benefit from quick restoration of operations at lower costs.

Look at these benefits of cloud incident response:

Enhanced cloud resilience

Cloud incident response facilitates data protection through proactive measures such as encryption, backups, real-time monitoring, and alerts. It utilizes machine learning and predictive analytics to identify vulnerabilities and take prompt actions. The adaptive security measures enhance the overall cloud security posture and build resilience.

Compliance management and reporting

More often than not, cloud providers align their services with regulatory standards such as GDPR and ISO 27001. They additionally offer tools for automated compliance monitoring and documentation and reporting of cloud incidents. These practices and features enable organizations to manage compliance and support reporting requirements during audits.

Rapid recovery

The primary benefit of cloud incident response is rapid recovery to ensure business continuity. The automated failover and recovery systems and scalable infrastructure help minimize downtime and restore the cloud environment to a normal state.

Cost management

Efficient cloud incident response helps manage financial costs related to recovery and remediation by minimizing damage impact. Additionally, it reduces any resource wastage by optimizing the response efforts, thereby saving costs.

Barriers and challenges in cloud incident response

The inherent complexity of the cloud environment leads to communication and coordination challenges, limited access, and numerous compliance issues due to varying jurisdictions.

Let’s look at some of the challenges in cloud incident response:

Identity is the perimeter

Unlike traditional environments, cloud environments lack a clearly defined perimeter. Experts agree that in the cloud, identity serves as the primary perimeter. Hackers can bypass network defenses without needing extensive knowledge about the environment, simply by stealing admin credentials. This leads to increased security risks and requires organizations to safeguard identity and access.

Managing heterogeneous environments

The cloud environment is heterogeneous, with private, multi-cloud, and hybrid environments. Each of these has its own security challenges: integration complexities, distributed data, diverse policies, and inconsistent tools and procedures. This increases the potential entry points for attackers and expands the attack surface area.

Distributed teams and stakeholders

Cloud incident handling involves various stakeholders and teams from both the organization and the CSP are involved. This can lead to communication delays or coordination issues because of roles and responsibilities ambiguity. Different teams may also use separate tools and procedures creating difficulties in integrating these systems.

Compliance complexities

Cloud environments can span various jurisdictions and require multi-framework compliance with regulations, especially when there are cross-border data transfers. This requires careful management of data storage, access, and sharing to maintain data privacy and protection. Addressing these different security and compliance requirements can be challenging.

Cloud incident response best practices

Cloud incident response best practices enable better recovery, enhanced compliance adherence and continuous improvement.

Follow these cloud IR best practices to make the most of your response efforts:

Sandbox deployment for analysis

Sandbox deployment provides an isolated space for any security evaluation without impacting the production environment. You can test new updates or software, analyze any malware and conduct forensic analysis during an incident. These testing environments help minimize a broader compromise.

Dynamic playbooks

Dynamic incident response playbooks evolve as per current data and context and enable incident response teams to make real-time decisions. These playbooks can be integrated into cloud tools to automate a range of response actions and also tailor them when required. It helps improve team communication and coordination and is easily scalable to address new challenges.

Integration of threat-intelligence feeds

Integrating threat intelligence feeds with cloud IR helps provide data about emerging security threats and enhances contextual awareness. It allows incident response teams to correlate data from indicators of compromise with tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) to prioritize response efforts accordingly.

Consolidate and secure logs

Consolidating logs from various cloud services is a best practice to centralize and access data from one place. It facilitates quick collaboration and easy correlation to enhance incident detection. These logs must also be secured using access controls, encryption and other security measures to minimize unauthorized access and preserve evidence.

Ensure least privilege and zero-trust

The zero trust principle and least privilege ensure that only the minimum necessary permissions per job function are granted and that every user and system is verified. This minimizes the attack surface area and enables early detection of suspicious events, as there is greater visibility into user activities.

Sprinto: The purpose-built solution for the cloud

Cloud incident response is seen as a critical component of the cloud security strategy. Additionally as sensitive information increasingly gets stored on the cloud, IR is necessary to protect the integrity and confidentiality of information and maintain regulatory compliance. This requires continuous monitoring, streamlined workflows, policy enforcement and comprehensive reporting. That is where tools like Sprinto make your life easier.

As a next-gen GRC tool it helps you manage all aspects of cloud risk management and compliance. The continuous testing and tracking of controls help detect vulnerabilities in real time for faster threat detection and proactive mitigation. The incident management module also enables you to integrate incident management tools with Sprinto and initiate remediation workflows.

The platform helps enforce cloud security policies, manage risk assessments, ensure secure third-party relationships, and ensure continuous compliance. You can also source instant compliance reports directly from the dashboard to understand the current security and compliance posture.

See the platform in action and kickstart your cloud compliance journey today.

FAQs

Can I outsource cloud incident response?

Yes you can outsource cloud incident response with third-party vendors to leverage their expertise and experience. You can even use automated tools for quick detection and response. It allows you to focus on core activities, get access to advanced technology and ensure prompt responses.

What are some tools for cloud incident response?

Here are some tools that can help you with cloud incident response:

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools: Splunk and IBM Qradar
• Incident response service providers: Palo Alto networks and TheHive
• Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools: Prisma Cloud and AWS service hub
• Threat intelligence platforms: ThreatConnect and Recorded future
• GRC tools: Sprinto and Vanta

Which frameworks can I refer to when creating a cloud incident response plan?

You can refer to the NIST Cybersecurity framework, NIST SP 800-61, NIST SP 800-53, ISO 27001 and CIS (Centre for Internet Security ) Controls to curate cloud incident response best practices and create your IRT plan.