Win the race against time to stay ahead of cybercriminals

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1 IBM Software Win the race against time to stay ahead of cybercriminals Get to the root cause of attacks fast with IBM Security QRadar Incident Forensics Highlights Help reduce the time required to determine the root cause of an incident Support real-time investigations of suspicious activity and reconstruction of previous actions Improve visibility into network activity to help stop an attack before critical data is discovered and compromised Save the cost of a forensics expert by enabling virtually any member of a security team to perform forensics investigations using a simple, Internet search engine-like interface Boost productivity of the IT security team Of all the questions organizations face in protecting against cyber attacks, one may be paramount: How long does it take to thoroughly investigate a security incident? Ideally, the answer should be that attackers and their dirty work have virtually no time at all. But in reality, many organizations give attackers all the time they need and then some. Consider the evidence: US organizations in 2013 were hit by an average of 122 cyber attacks a week, a 20 percent increase from the previous year. 1 Attackers typically have access to the targeted network for an estimated 243 days before their breach is discovered. 2 And even after discovery, the average attack still takes 32 days to resolve. 1 What organizations need instead is a rapid way to gain understanding of who is attacking and the extent of any data loss. They need a tool that will help them retrace and replay the malicious activity occurring on their network associated with an identified, high-priority security incident. By adding the clarity of the step-by-step movements, security teams can develop effective remediation actions. IBM Security QRadar Incident Forensics enables organizations to optimize the process of investigating and gathering evidence on attacks and data breaches. Delivering insight and analysis that cannot be achieved using only log source events and network flow details, it uses full network

2 IBM Software Enabling new efficiencies for threat protection packet capture data to provide powerful indexing, searching, data pivoting and reporting capabilities that support smarter, faster decisions by the IT security team. Using a security intelligence solution to gather incident-related data is central to discovering threats. But for many organizations, the sheer volume of data these solutions typically collect can become a huge impediment to rapidly determining the root cause of an incident. Adding full packet capture technology can compound the problem, as it temporarily stores all network communications. Finding a way to efficiently use that network data then becomes critical. Rapidly discovering the root cause of an incident Savvy security professionals know that their organization will eventually be breached, as too many cybercriminals are successfully bypassing perimeter defenses using compromised access credentials. They recognize the need for solutions that can quickly detect anomalous activity and provide the visibility necessary to help stop the attack before critical data can be discovered and exfiltrated. The question is how to achieve this goal. IBM Security QRadar Incident Forensics deployment Does the security team receive alerts that provide guidance regarding threats? Are those alerts used to initiate investigations based on specific and limited search criteria? Does the organization have the in-house skills to perform these forensics investigations? And do they have the tools to assemble a complete digital impression of a suspected attacker from network metadata? IBM QRadar Security Intelligence Platform consoles IBM Security QRadar Incident Forensics modules IBM Security QRadar Packet Capture appliances Internet and enterprise network An advanced security intelligence solution can deliver capabilities to answer these questions and at the same time, help the security team achieve a dramatic increase in productivity. By reducing the time required to determine the root cause of an incident from days or weeks to only hours or even minutes, it can help the organization get ahead in the race against time to defeat a security incident. The ability to quickly analyze threats can be a significant step in reducing the cyber attacker s advantage, keeping critical or private data safe, and protecting the organization s brand reputation. IBM Security QRadar Incident Forensics combines a packet capture appliance (from IBM or a third-party vendor) and incident forensics modules (from IBM) and integrates with IBM QRadar Security Intelligence Platform. IP packet captures (PCAPs) are difficult to use in their raw form and must be processed into database records or recompiled into documents humans can understand. Their huge numbers create challenges for search and analysis. And they consume such large amounts of storage that most organizations 2

3 retain them for only a few weeks. Any inefficiencies that result can mean the very data that is supposed to enable insight can cause delays in providing security when time is of the essence. QRadar Incident Forensics helps overcome these challenges by working with PCAP devices to construct a new source of security data for use by the analytics platform. When directed to construct an investigations case, the solution transposes PCAPs into an extensively indexed and quickly searchable document format, creating a more effective foundation for advanced threat protection. This directed search is fundamental to the operations of QRadar Incident Forensics, which begins either with the investigation of an offense record created by IBM Security QRadar SIEM or a threat intelligence alert from a database such as IBM X-Force. A search case is then defined, all associated PCAPs are retrieved, and their contents are processed into indexed documents. This search case definition provides the security team with an evidence trail they can examine and pivot upon to quickly find the root cause of an attack and eliminate the vulnerability. Enabling complete reconstruction of the security incident QRadar Incident Forensics is made up of two components: a packet capture appliance, provided as hardware by IBM or a third-party vendor, which collects data and provides temporary storage; and a forensics module, provided as either hardware or software, that conducts packet retrieval, indexing, searching and data pivoting. With these capabilities, QRadar Incident Forensics supports real-time investigations of suspicious activity as well as reconstruction of previous actions, returning search results in seconds, in most cases. Incident scenario: Identifying a brute force attack QRadar Incident Forensics can identify a brute force attack s systematic search for passwords and attempts to access systems. Here s how it can work: A check for security breaches reveals an offense has occurred. Searching of recovered network data reveals details about the attack, including the associated IP address. The forensics solution provides a query for all the PCAPs keyed off the IP address over a specified time. A search of collected data reveals a large number of unsuccessful attempts to log in to a server. Clicking on a search result reveals that access was granted after a number of attempts. The forensics solution reveals that the attack accessed personal information stored on the server. The security team notifies the data owners or takes other remediation steps according to the organization s policies. 3

4 QRadar Incident Forensics, coupled with dedicated packet capture capability, has proven it can deliver important benefits for our communications security monitoring. until they are processed as part of an incident investigation or until available storage capacity is exceeded. The difference between QRadar Incident Forensics and conventional discovery and intrusion prevention solutions is the way in which it uses the PCAP data to perform searches and extract insights. Product beta participant The solution integrates with a variety of industry-standard security information and event management (SIEM) products and devices, but it is most effective when used with IBM QRadar Security Intelligence Platform, a suite of products that provides a unified architecture for integrating SIEM, log management, data storage, incident forensics, full packet capture, and risk and vulnerability management. Adding QRadar Incident Forensics to QRadar SIEM delivers industry-leading, accelerated abilities for conducting security investigations and returns detailed, multi-level, prioritized results in chronological order. With a click of the mouse, the solution can generate relationship maps to guide forensics investigations by visually constructing session histories of those persons behind the threats. The graphics are easy to manipulate to better examine the most suspicious and frequent interactions. Locating incidents with a search engine-like interface The addition of the QRadar Incident Forensics Packet Capture appliance to a network gives the organization the ability to collect network communications data through a conventional tap. It enables the organization to temporarily store raw PCAPs I don t have data scientists on staff nor can I find them I need a forensics solution that my security analysts can use. University The search-driven data exploration provided by QRadar Incident Forensics is automatic. The security team defines search parameters such as dates in which an incident is known to have occurred or a malware description was received in an alert from a threat intelligence source such as IBM X-Force. Or the team can perform free-form, Boolean queries using a simple, search engine-like interface. The simplicity of the process helps reduce the need for technical training and helps save the cost of expensive forensics experts by allowing virtually any member of a security team to conduct a search. At this point, the forensics and analytics module pulls relevant data from the packet capture appliance, processes it and returns results with no additional operator intervention. QRadar Incident Forensics indexes and correlates this data, prioritizing search performance to help quickly pinpoint malicious activities and threat actors. 4

5 Directed searches using IBM Security QRadar Incident Forensics return prioritized results with frequent occurrences at the top, much the way search engine optimization prioritizes sites in an Internet search. Understanding how directed searches work When QRadar Incident Forensics receives a search request, it de-packetizes the PCAP data that is, it strips away the signals and metadata associated with sending the packet to a specific address, in a specific order or over a defined timeframe. It then removes the payload, the information contained in the communication, and puts it back into the format that was sent to the intended recipient. Microsoft Word documents, for example, are recovered as Word files. Voice-over-IP phone calls are recovered as audio files. The simple user interface masks the power that is available to the security analyst. It was as basic as typing in a search string. The recovered files are then extensively indexed using both metadata and file contents to make them searchable, enabling security teams to locate keywords for example, confidential in files or s that might indicate data theft. The outcome helps the security team support network security, analyze and help prevent external attacks and insider threats, and document incident-related evidence. These search capabilities provide significant advantages and simplicity over conventional solutions that require security teams to decide on their own which packets to pull and then requires them to serially search for evidence of a breach or attack. QRadar Incident Forensics displays prioritized results with the most frequent occurrences at the top of the list much the way search engine optimization prioritizes the most commonly accessed sites in an Internet search. Product beta participant 5

6 Incident scenario: Locating possible data loss QRadar Incident Forensics can help discover whether any offenses have occurred that are associated with suspected data loss. Here s how it can work: Receiving notice of an offense prompts a detailed inquiry to discover what data might have been compromised. For each incident, the forensics solution queries for all PCAPs keyed off the IP address associated with the offense over a defined period of time. Content is reconstructed in its original format and organized based on relevance. To explore attributes of the event, the forensics tool extracts and indexes domain and event properties. To discover who sent a suspicious , the system derives potential suspects from IP addresses and statistics showing how frequently was used. Investigation reveals a chat ID with the perpetrator s address. Reading the chat, the security team discovers that an employee shared documents with a competitor. Effectively managing huge quantities of packet data Simplicity of operation and fast, accurate discovery are two key benefits of QRadar Incident Forensics. A third benefit addresses data volume the side product of data searches that can actually become a barrier to the insight the organization is attempting to achieve. In conventional forensics solutions, huge data volumes can considerably increase the time required to complete an investigation to weeks or even months. And while investigative wheels are slowly turning, a new attack of the type already suspected may arrive and go undetected. Or an attack from a previous time suspected but not confirmed, or not detected at all can continue its malicious activities. The ease with which QRadar Incident Forensics conducts data searches can help overcome hard-to-penetrate data volumes. And the resulting speed of discovery can help the organization stay ahead of fast-acting cybercriminals. QRadar Incident Forensics also enables security teams to better manage the storage of PCAP data. In a conventional deployment, packet data can rapidly fill the available storage capacity often in as short a time as one week. It is then automatically deleted, so it is unavailable for forensic investigations. With QRadar Incident Forensics, however, it is possible to deploy multiple packet capture appliances to balance the data load, reducing the impact on any single device and making it possible to retain data for longer periods of time. Using forensics to set the stage for remediation Directed searches made possible by the combination of QRadar SIEM and QRadar Incident Forensics make for rapid discovery of the root causes of attacks and breaches and help reduce the attacker s advantage. Rapid response can eliminate the danger that an attack goes undetected for long periods of time. An accurate response can mean that after malicious activity is found and identified, remediation can occur more effectively. 6

7 My IT security team spends a majority of their time in the QRadar console. Now I don t have to have them use a disparate tool for forensics. Energy and utilities company By completing its search operations and locating an attack s root cause in seconds or minutes rather than hours, QRadar Incident Forensics sets the stage for effective remediation to contain compromises and reduce the duration of business disruptions caused by cyber attacks. With wide variations in the size, complexity and business requirements of infrastructures, the different levels of maturity for their cyber attack defenses, and the range of attacks that an organization may need to overcome, a QRadar Incident Forensics investigation can prompt any number of steps to remediation. In one case, blocking an external IP address may be sufficient to help prevent further attacks. Another case may require patching an application s vulnerability using a solution. Still another may require removing an insider s privileged access or terminating the insider s employment to help ensure further misuse of credentials does not occur. In all instances, however, the easy, rapid identification of an attack s root cause using QRadar Incident Forensics can provide the necessary information and insight to help put an end to an attack and help ensure protection against additional attacks in the future. Incident scenario: Communications with a competitor QRadar Incident Forensics can help discover traces of activity on a network to reveal how a competitor obtained an organization s intellectual property. Here s how it can work: Looking at IP addresses reveals that someone internally sent s to a competitor. A chat conversation also occurred. Even though the chat was identified as a highly relevant search result, it did not contain the search phrase. The chat was identified based on its context, including the name of the competing company in the document. Security analysts were able to open the document. They could also view file metadata to search all documents created by this sender, including Voice-over-IP calls, which they reconstructed. They also identified network traffic 15 minutes before and after the phone conversation for a chronological view of events. They could also reconstruct s and webpages to further retrace activities. Why IBM? IBM Security QRadar Incident Forensics provides rapid operation typically completing search operations in seconds or minutes rather than hours. It is easy to use with no special training required to convert packet data into indexed, readable documents. It delivers accurate, directed searches giving organizations evidence of an attack or breach in a readable format that allows them to quickly find the root cause of an attack. With QRadar Incident Forensics, security teams can benefit from a dramatic improvement in their productivity and accuracy, and position the organization to better document regulatory compliance. Integrated with IBM QRadar Security Intelligence Platform, QRadar Incident Forensics can set the stage for remediation based on a clearer understanding of network security incidents. 7

8 For more information To learn more about IBM Security QRadar Incident Forensics, please contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit: ibm.com/software/products/en/qradar-incident-forensics Copyright IBM Corporation 2014 IBM Corporation Software Group Route 100 Somers, NY Produced in the United States of America July 2014 IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, QRadar, and X-Force are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the web at Copyright and trademark information at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml Microsoft is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. This document is current as of the initial date of publication and may be changed by IBM at any time. Not all offerings are available in every country in which IBM operates. THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF NON-INFRINGEMENT. IBM products are warranted according to the terms and conditions of the agreements under which they are provided. The client is responsible for ensuring compliance with laws and regulations applicable to it. IBM does not provide legal advice or represent or warrant that its services or products will ensure that the client is in compliance with any law or regulation. Statements regarding IBM s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only. 1 Sean Michael Kerner, Cyber-Crime Costs Continue to Rise: Study, eweek, December 8, cyber-crime-costs-continue-to-rise-study.html 2 Mandiant Releases Annual Threat Report on Advanced Tarteted Attacks, Mandiant, March 13, news/release/mandiant-releases-annual-threat-report-onadvanced-targeted-attacks1/ Statement of Good Security Practices: IT system security involves protecting systems and information through prevention, detection and response to improper access from within and outside your enterprise. Improper access can result in information being altered, destroyed or misappropriated or can result in damage to or misuse of your systems, including to attack others. No IT system or product should be considered completely secure and no single product or security measure can be completely effective in preventing improper access. IBM systems and products are designed to be part of a comprehensive security approach, which will necessarily involve additional operational procedures, and may require other systems, products or services to be most effective. IBM does not warrant that systems and products are immune from the malicious or illegal conduct of any party. Please Recycle WGS03024-USEN-00