You are tasked as the Cyber Security Analyst at your new organization to assist Law Enforcement with investigating a digital crime.
For the purpose of this assignment, you are to search the Internet for a recent Digital Crime or Cyber attack on an actual organization (and that will be your new organization). Use the Tasks outlined below (and feel free to add your own steps) and create an in-depth plan that that provides a well thought out approach (what you propose to do to carry out each task) to investigate the crime.
Cybersecurity Investigation & Forensic Methodology (Tasks):
Investigate the crime or the scene of the incident
Reconstruct the scene or incident
Collect the digital evidence, and make a copy of the original data
Analyze the evidence using inductive and deductive forensic tools
Establish linkages, associations and reconstructions
Full Answer Section
- System Examination: Collaborate with IT personnel to identify compromised systems and isolate them to prevent further damage and lateral movement within the network.
- User Interviews: Interview key personnel like IT staff, system administrators, and potentially affected users to gather information about suspicious emails, unusual system behavior, or unauthorized access attempts.
- Reconstruct the Incident Timeline:
- Log Analysis: Analyze firewall logs, system logs, and application logs to reconstruct the sequence of events. Identify the initial breach point, compromised accounts, and attacker actions within the network.
- Timeline Creation: Develop a comprehensive timeline outlining the attack's stages, including initial intrusion, privilege escalation, lateral movement, data exfiltration (if applicable), and attempted cover-up (if any).
- Collect and Secure Digital Evidence:
- Evidence Identification: Identify potential digital evidence based on the attack type and reconstructed timeline. This could include compromised files, modified system configurations, malware samples, network traffic logs, user activity logs, and email records.
- Data Preservation: Secure and preserve identified evidence using forensic techniques. Employ write-blocking tools to prevent data alteration. Create a chain of custody document to maintain evidence integrity throughout the investigation.
- Data Acquisition: Depending on the location of evidence (servers, workstations, cloud storage), acquire forensic copies of the data using forensic imaging tools to avoid altering the original source.
- Analyze the Evidence:
- Forensic Analysis: Analyze the forensic copies of acquired evidence using forensic software to identify malware signatures, suspicious registry entries, compromised files, and network communication patterns.
- Incident Response Tools: Utilize incident response tools to analyze network traffic logs, identify anomalies, and potentially pinpoint attacker IP addresses or communication methods.
- Threat Intelligence: Leverage threat intelligence feeds to identify similarities with known attack vectors or malware used by specific cybercriminal groups. This may provide insights into attacker motivations and techniques.
- Linkages, Associations, and Reconstruction:
- Correlate Evidence: Correlate findings from log analysis, forensic analysis, and user interviews to build a cohesive picture of the attack. Identify connections between compromised accounts, suspicious activities, and exfiltrated data (if applicable).
- Attacker Profile: Based on the investigation's findings, attempt to create a profile of the attacker, including their skill level, target motivation (financial gain, espionage), and potentially even their location (based on IP geolocation analysis, with caution due to spoofing techniques).
- Reconstruction Report: Prepare a comprehensive report summarizing the investigation's findings, including the reconstructed timeline, identified evidence, analysis results, and potential attacker profile.
Additional Considerations:
- Data Privacy: Throughout the investigation, ensure adherence to all data privacy regulations and only access/analyze data relevant to the investigation.
- Documentation: Maintain meticulous documentation of all investigative steps taken, decisions made, and tools used. This will be crucial for legal proceedings and future reference.
- Collaboration: Maintain open communication and collaboration with Law Enforcement throughout the investigation, keeping them informed of progress and findings.
By following these steps, we can effectively investigate the digital crime at Acme Corp, collect and analyze digital evidence, and potentially identify the perpetrators. This information will be vital for Law Enforcement to pursue further action and hold those responsible accountable.
Sample Answer
Investigating a Digital Crime at Acme Corp
Acme Corp, a prominent manufacturer of smart home devices, has recently fallen victim to a cyberattack. As the new Cybersecurity Analyst, I will be working collaboratively with Law Enforcement to investigate the crime. Here's a detailed plan outlining my approach to each task:
1. Investigate the Crime Scene (Acme Corp Network):
- Initial Contact: Liaise with Law Enforcement to understand the nature of the attack, reported impacts, and affected systems.
- Network Assessment: Analyze network traffic logs to identify suspicious activity, potential entry points, and data exfiltration attempts.