Preface

As we continue to rely more on technology, we are exposed to cyber threats that pose a significant risk to our security and privacy. In recent years, cyber-attacks have become increasingly sophisticated, making it more difficult for security professionals to identify and investigate them. This is particularly true for Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts who are responsible for detecting and responding to cyber threats.

Effective Threat Investigation for SOC Analysts is a comprehensive guide to help SOC analysts understand the techniques used by threat actors to achieve their objectives, including initial access, execution, persistence, lateral movement, Command and Control (C&C), and exfiltration. This book also explains how to detect and investigate cyber threats by analyzing most of the possible solutions and system logs that you may receive in your organization’s Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution, including email security logs, Windows event logs, proxy logs, firewall logs, security solution alerts, Web Application Firewall (WAF) logs, and more. By using this book, SOC analysts can gain the knowledge and skills they need to be better prepared to detect and investigate cyber threats in their organizations.

The book covers a range of topics, starting with an in-depth analysis of email-based cyber threats and the importance of email header analysis. It also delves into the specifics of Windows account login and management tracking, the investigation of suspicious Windows process executions, PowerShell attacks, and persistence and lateral movement techniques in the Windows environment by analyzing the various Windows logs.

The book provides valuable insights into how to detect and investigate security incidents using firewall logs, proxy logs, and analyzing suspicious outbound communications, including C&C communications. It also covers the importance of WAF and application logs in detecting and investigating external threats, including various types of web attacks and suspicious external access to remote services.

In addition, the book guides SOC analysts in detecting and investigating cyber threats using network flows, Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)/Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) alerts, network antivirus, and sandbox alerts; also, it teaches the SOC analyst how to investigate Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and antivirus alerts. The book provides an overview of threat intelligence and its importance in investigating cyber threats. It covers several tools and platforms for investigating threats, including VirusTotal, IBM-XForce, AbuseIPDB, and Google.

Finally, the book provides a comprehensive practical guide for SOC analysts on building a malware sandbox environment to investigate suspicious files using static and dynamic malware analysis techniques.

We hope this book will be a valuable resource for SOC analysts and security professionals who are committed to protecting our digital world.