Book Image

Cloud Forensics Demystified

By : Ganesh Ramakrishnan, Mansoor Haqanee
Book Image

Cloud Forensics Demystified

By: Ganesh Ramakrishnan, Mansoor Haqanee

Overview of this book

As organizations embrace cloud-centric environments, it becomes imperative for security professionals to master the skills of effective cloud investigation. Cloud Forensics Demystified addresses this pressing need, explaining how to use cloud-native tools and logs together with traditional digital forensic techniques for a thorough cloud investigation. The book begins by giving you an overview of cloud services, followed by a detailed exploration of the tools and techniques used to investigate popular cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Progressing through the chapters, you’ll learn how to investigate Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and containerized environments such as Kubernetes. Throughout, the chapters emphasize the significance of the cloud, explaining which tools and logs need to be enabled for investigative purposes and demonstrating how to integrate them with traditional digital forensic tools and techniques to respond to cloud security incidents. By the end of this book, you’ll be well-equipped to handle security breaches in cloud-based environments and have a comprehensive understanding of the essential cloud-based logs vital to your investigations. This knowledge will enable you to swiftly acquire and scrutinize artifacts of interest in cloud security incidents.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Part 1: Cloud Fundamentals
6
Part 2: Forensic Readiness: Tools, Techniques, and Preparation for Cloud Forensics
10
Part 3: Cloud Forensic Analysis – Responding to an Incident in the Cloud

Cloud administrator portal breach

Gaining access to the cloud administrator portal is akin to handing over the keys to the entire cloud kingdom. An attacker with such access can not only view sensitive data but can manipulate configurations, delete crucial resources, and potentially incur huge costs by spawning large amounts of resources. Let’s take a closer look at what attacks can be performed:

  • Brute-force attacks: Attackers use software to try as many combinations as possible to gain access

    Indicator: Multiple failed login attempts from the same IP address in a short period

  • Credential stuffing: Attackers use previously breached usernames and passwords

    Indicator: Login attempts with multiple usernames from the same IP address

  • Phishing attacks: Attackers deceive users into providing their login credentials

    Indicator: Users accessing cloud portals from unfamiliar referrer URLs or logging in from unfamiliar locations

  • Token theft: Attackers steal authentication...