Pre-deploy tools

Ensuring that security personnel have pre-deployed tools is crucial for efficient incident management. This preparation reduces the time required to transition from investigation to recovery, ultimately minimizing the impact of security incidents on business operations.

Best Practices

Pre-deploy Incident Response Tools

• Identify and assess the tools required for incident response, such as logging and monitoring solutions, forensic analysis tools, and automated recovery scripts. This is important to ensure teams are equipped to act swiftly and effectively during an incident.
• Establish a centralized repository for all pre-deployed tools and ensure all team members know how to access them. This saves critical time in emergencies.
• Regularly update tools and configurations to leverage the latest security features and remain compatible with your evolving architecture. Keeping tools updated helps mitigate risks associated with outdated software.
• Conduct routine drills and simulations to practice using these tools in incident scenarios. This reinforces team familiarity and hones their ability to respond swiftly when a real incident occurs.
• Document and review the incident response process and tool usage after every drill to identify areas for improvement. Continuous learning from exercises ensures the response process evolves with your security landscape.

Questions to ask your team

• What specific tools have been pre-deployed for incident response?
• How often are these tools updated and tested for efficacy?
• Are the security personnel trained to use the pre-deployed tools effectively?
• How does your team ensure that these tools are accessible during an incident?
• What procedures are in place for communicating the use of these tools to relevant stakeholders?
• How do you evaluate the effectiveness of the tools after an incident occurs?
• Do you have a schedule for routine practice drills to test incident response capabilities?

Who should be doing this?

Security Operations Center (SOC) Analyst

• Monitor security alerts and incidents.
• Utilize pre-deployed investigation tools to analyze incidents.
• Document findings during the incident response process.
• Assist in containing and isolating security incidents.

Incident Response Manager

• Coordinate the overall response to incidents.
• Ensure pre-deployed tools are updated and accessible.
• Develop and conduct incident response training and simulation exercises.
• Review and improve incident response procedures based on lessons learned.

System Administrator

• Maintain the security toolset ensuring functionality and availability.
• Support SOC analysts during incident investigations.
• Assist in recovery efforts and restoration of affected systems.
• Ensure backups are up-to-date and restorations can be completed promptly.

Compliance Officer

• Ensure compliance with security policies and regulations during incident response.
• Review incident reports for compliance implications.
• Coordinate with legal and regulatory bodies as necessary during incidents.

Business Continuity Planner

• Integrate incident response plans with business continuity plans.
• Identify critical business functions that need prioritization during recovery.
• Conduct regular risk assessments and impact analyses related to security incidents.

What evidence shows this is happening in your organization?

• Incident Response Tool Inventory: A comprehensive list of pre-deployed tools available to the security team for incident response, including logging, monitoring, and forensic analysis tools. This inventory ensures that all team members are aware of the resources at their disposal during an incident.
• Incident Response Plan Template: A structured template for developing an incident response plan that outlines roles, responsibilities, and procedures. This document helps guide teams through the preparation, detection, containment, eradication, and recovery phases of incident response.
• Game Day Exercise Checklist: A checklist to facilitate incident response training sessions. The checklist covers objectives, scenarios to practice, participants’ roles, and evaluation criteria to ensure that teams are well-prepared for real incidents.
• Post-Incident Review Report: A template for documenting lessons learned following an incident. This report includes the timeline of events, effectiveness of the response tools used, and recommendations for improving response times and capabilities.
• Monitoring and Alerting Dashboard: A live dashboard displaying key metrics and alerts related to system and network health. This dashboard assists the security team in detecting potential threats quickly and empowers them to respond effectively.
• Forensic Analysis Runbook: A detailed runbook for conducting forensic investigations on suspected incidents. It outlines steps for data preservation, evidence collection, and analysis to ensure that proper procedures are followed during an investigation.

Cloud Services

AWS

• AWS CloudTrail: Provides logging and monitoring of account activity across your AWS infrastructure, allowing security teams to track changes and respond to incidents effectively.
• Amazon GuardDuty: A threat detection service that continuously monitors for malicious activity and unauthorized behavior to help protect your AWS accounts and workloads.
• AWS Security Hub: Aggregates security findings from various AWS services and partner solutions, providing a comprehensive view to help teams respond to incidents more effectively.

Azure

• Azure Security Center: Helps you prevent, detect, and respond to threats with unified security management through continuous monitoring and assessment.
• Azure Sentinel: A cloud-native SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) that enables proactive threat detection and response across your organization.
• Azure DDoS Protection: Provides DDoS attack protection to safeguard your applications and services, ensuring availability during security incidents.

Google Cloud Platform

• Google Cloud Security Command Center: Provides visibility into and control over your security risks across Google Cloud services, helping to identify and respond to security incidents.
• Google Cloud Armor: Helps protect your applications from DDoS attacks and web application threats, enabling you to maintain service availability during incidents.
• Chronicle: A cloud-based security analytics platform that enables organizations to store and analyze security telemetry, aiding incident detection and response.

Question: How do you anticipate, respond to, and recover from incidents?
Pillar: Security (Code: SEC)