What to do afterwards.
WHAT THE ORDER IS
Contain Preserve Establish scope Remediate Verify Learn
WHAT CONTAINMENT MEANS
Stopping ongoing harm: outbound abuse, further access.
HOW
Restrict network access, disable compromised accounts, rotate keys.
WHAT TO PRESERVE
Logs, copied off the machine A snapshot, where possible A list of what you found
WHY OFF THE MACHINE
Anything on it can be altered.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
How access was gained What was accessed Over what period Whether data was taken
WHY THE ENTRY POINT MATTERS MOST
Without it, the same route is used again.
WHAT THE COMMON ROUTES ARE
Outdated application software Weak or reused credentials Exposed services A compromised local machine
WHAT REMEDIATION SHOULD INVOLVE
Rebuilding, rather than cleaning, where feasible Restoring data from before the intrusion Changing every credential Updating everything
WHY EVERY CREDENTIAL
You cannot know what was read.
WHAT TO VERIFY AFTERWARDS
That the entry point is closed That no persistence remains
WHAT OBLIGATIONS MAY APPLY
Notifying affected parties, if data was exposed. Take advice.
