If you have ever found yourself spending extensive periods manually sifting through AWS CloudTrail logs, verifying AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) permissions, and reconstructing the sequence of a security incident, you are familiar with the significant time commitment required for investigating such events. Today, we are thrilled to introduce AI-driven investigative functionalities to AWS Security Incident Response that streamline the process of collecting and analyzing evidence.

AWS Security Incident Response is designed to help you address security incidents more swiftly and efficiently. This service integrates automated monitoring and triage of security findings, containment measures, and now AI-powered investigative capabilities alongside round-the-clock access to the AWS Customer Incident Response Team (CIRT).

When delving into a potentially suspicious API call or anomalous network activity, scoping and validation entail querying multiple data repositories, aligning timestamps, pinpointing related incidents, and constructing a comprehensive account of the situation. Security operations center (SOC) analysts allocate a considerable amount of time to each investigation, with nearly half of their efforts dedicated to manually aggregating and synthesizing evidence from diverse tools and intricate logs. This manual process can impede your analysis and response time.

AWS is introducing an investigative agent to Security Incident Response to revolutionize this approach and enhance efficiency levels. The investigative agent streamlines the validation and response process for potential security incidents. Upon initiating a case for a security concern—either by you or proactively by Security Incident Response—the investigative agent seeks clarifications to ensure it grasps the full context of the situation. It then automatically collects evidence from CloudTrail events, IAM configurations, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instance particulars, as well as analyzes cost usage trends. Within minutes, it correlates this information, identifies patterns, and presents you with a concise summary.

Before delving into an example scenario, let’s elucidate where the investigative agent resides, how it is accessed, its purpose, and operational function. Integrated directly into Security Incident Response, the investigative agent becomes available automatically when you initiate a case. Its primary role is to serve as your initial responder—collecting evidence, cross-referencing data across AWS services, and constructing a detailed timeline of events to facilitate a seamless transition from detection to recovery.

For instance: suppose you uncover that AWS credentials for an IAM user within your account were exposed in a public GitHub repository. You must ascertain the actions executed with these credentials, define the scope of the potential security incident comprehensively—including lateral movement and reconnaissance activities—and identify any persistence mechanisms that may have been established while determining appropriate containment measures. To commence proceedings, you create a case in the Security Incident Response console detailing the incident.

Here is where the agent’s methodology diverges from conventional automation: it initiates by seeking clarifications through interactive queries such as *When were the credentials first exposed?*, *What is the IAM user’s name?*, *Have you rotated the credentials already?*, *Which AWS account is impacted?*. This interactive phase ensures that relevant details and metadata are gathered before proceeding with evidence collection. Consequently, you receive tailored investigation results specific to your concerns rather than generic outcomes.

Once equipped with necessary information, the agent embarks on its investigation journey. It combs through CloudTrail events to identify API calls conducted using compromised credentials, assesses IAM user and role configurations for permissions granted, identifies any new IAM entities established recently, inspects EC2 instance details if new compute resources were deployed, and scrutinizes cost and usage patterns for any unusual resource consumption signs. Rather than individually querying each AWS service, the agent orchestrates this process seamlessly.

In a matter of minutes following its investigation phase completion—as depicted in the subsequent figure—an investigation summary is delivered. This summary encapsulates key insights including credential exposure patterns observed activities within specific timeframe affected resources limiting factors among other critical findings.

In time-critical scenarios such as these instances transparency emerges as pivotal element ensuring swift precise response particularly when escalation to AWS CIRT—a dedicated cohort of AWS security professionals—is necessitated or when reporting findings to leadership aiming at providing stakeholders with unified perspective on incidents.

Upon conclusion of investigation process an intricate understanding of events enables informed decision-making pertaining containment eradication recovery procedures. In light of aforementioned exposed credentials scenario essential actions may include:

* Revoking compromised access keys
* Eliminating newly created IAM roles
* Terminating unauthorized EC2 instances
* Reviewing reverting associated IAM policy modifications
* Scrutinizing creation additional access keys other users

Engaging with CIRT provides further guidance on containment strategies based on insights unveiled during evidence gathering by agent.

While showcasing capabilities relative single incident involving leaked credentials greater impact resonates operational efficiency on daily basis:

* **Streamlined evidence collection:** The investigative agent automates labor-intensive aspect investigations—collating correlating information across disparate sources—thus freeing up more time towards containment decisions prevention recurrence rather than being consumed hours manual log scrutiny.
* **Plain language investigations:** Leveraging natural language processing (NLP) enables articulation investigation specifics plain language like `unusual API calls from IP address X` `data access from terminated employee’s credentials` subsequently translated by agent into requisite technical queries obviating need expertise in AWS log formats or syntax querying CloudTrail.
* **Foundation precise investigations:** Initial probe conducted by investigative agent encompasses gathering evidence identifying patterns delivering comprehensive summary enhancing groundwork high-fidelity accurate investigations scenarios demanding deeper analysis guidance complex situations seamlessly transition engagement CIRT who can expeditiously build upon preliminary work done by agent focusing advanced threat analysis containment strategies without starting afresh benefiting shared insights timeline expediting their response times.

For existing users Security Incident Response AI-powered investigative functionalities accessible immediately without additional configuration requirements simply commence new security case trigger automatic operation agent.

Newcomers initiating Security Incident Response require follow steps:

1. **Enable Security Incident Response via AWS Organizations management account** streamlined process via AWS Management Console extending coverage multiple accounts.
2. **Initiate new case** outline specifics pertaining incident through either Security Incident Response console API opt automated case generation leveraging Amazon GuardDuty or AWS Security Hub alerts.
3. **Review analysis** findings presented by agent within Security Incident Response console alternatively accessible existing ticketing systems e.g., Jira ServiceNow ensuring comprehensive visibility insights derived investigations.

Operationalizing investigative agent employs AWS Support service-linked role extract data from various AWS resources role auto-generated upon setting up AWS account affording necessary permissions Support tools query CloudTrail records IAM settings EC2 particulars cost information actions performed logged in CloudTrail ensuring complete audit trail.

Inclusion investigative agent inherent within Security Incident Response entails no supplementary costs synchronized metered pricing incorporating free tier encompassing initial 10 000 ingested findings monthly subsequent findings billed decreasing rates higher volumes scalability inherent consumption-based model enabling scaling security incident response capabilities alignment evolving needs.

Customer-initiated proactive cases managed seamlessly integrated console API Amazon EventBridge facilitating end-to-end detection-to-investigation workflows routing security incidents originating GuardDuty Security Hub Security Incident Response creating cases triggering response plans expediting resolution process auto-triage system preemptively sieves filters out extraneous security findings culled GuardDuty third-party security tools via Security Hub leveraging customer-specific data IP addresses IAM entities winnow alert volume escalating critical alerts warrant immediate attention thereby directing focus investigative agent towards actionable alerts necessitating closer examination.

Illustrated how novel AI-powered investigative functionalities within AWS Security Incident Response streamline evidence gathering analysis slashing investigation times hours mere minutes employing interactive queries tailor-made investigations automated data sourcing correlation delivery exhaustive summary maintaining transparency auditability forefront value proposition incorporating speed efficiency AI-driven automation complemented expertise oversight AWS security