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 Productivity Suites

By this point in the book, you are well acquainted with the core components and log sources that are integral to Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). As we pivot to productivity suites, it’s crucial to recognize that these platforms—namely Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace—are often the epicenter of organizational data and activity. The investigation of incidents in these environments comes with its own unique challenges and possibilities, as these services offer not just computing and storage but also extensive collaborative tools, all available through a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. The SaaS model, though convenient for organizations, means analysis will be dependent on which log sources are made available for investigators by the products.

It’s important to note that AWS does not have a cloud productivity suite akin to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace...