# Security Incident Response Playbook

## Overview

This playbook provides step-by-step procedures for responding to security incidents. It defines roles, responsibilities, and actions required to effectively contain, investigate, and recover from security events.

## Incident Classification

### Severity Levels

**Critical (P0) - 15 minutes response time**
- Data breach with customer PII exposed
- Active malware or ransomware attack
- Complete system compromise
- Ongoing unauthorized access to production systems

**High (P1) - 1 hour response time**
- Suspected data breach
- Privilege escalation attempts
- Denial of service attacks
- Unauthorized access attempts to sensitive systems

**Medium (P2) - 4 hours response time**
- Suspicious network activity
- Failed authentication attempts (brute force)
- Malware detection on non-critical systems
- Policy violations

**Low (P3) - 24 hours response time**
- Security tool alerts requiring investigation
- Minor policy violations
- Routine security events

## Incident Response Team

### Core Team Members

**Incident Commander (IC)**
- Overall incident coordination
- Decision making authority
- External communication
- Resource allocation

**Security Analyst**
- Technical investigation
- Evidence collection
- Threat analysis
- Remediation recommendations

**IT Operations**
- System isolation and containment
- Infrastructure changes
- Service restoration
- Performance monitoring

**Legal/Compliance**
- Regulatory notification requirements
- Legal implications assessment
- Evidence preservation
- External counsel coordination

**Communications**
- Internal stakeholder updates
- Customer communications
- Media relations (if required)
- Documentation and reporting

## Response Procedures

### Phase 1: Detection and Analysis (0-30 minutes)

**Immediate Actions:**
1. **Acknowledge the incident**
   - Log incident in tracking system
   - Assign incident ID and severity
   - Notify Incident Commander

2. **Initial assessment**
   - Gather basic incident information
   - Determine scope and impact
   - Classify severity level
   - Activate appropriate response team

3. **Evidence preservation**
   - Take system snapshots
   - Preserve log files
   - Document initial observations
   - Maintain chain of custody

**Decision Points:**
- Is this a confirmed security incident?
- What is the potential impact?
- Are customer data or critical systems affected?
- Do we need to involve law enforcement?

### Phase 2: Containment (30 minutes - 2 hours)

**Short-term Containment:**
1. **Isolate affected systems**
   ```bash
   # AWS: Isolate EC2 instance
   aws ec2 modify-instance-attribute --instance-id i-1234567890abcdef0 --groups sg-isolation
   
   # Disable compromised user accounts
   aws iam attach-user-policy --user-name compromised-user --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AWSDenyAll
   ```

2. **Block malicious traffic**
   - Update security groups
   - Configure WAF rules
   - Block IP addresses at network level

3. **Preserve evidence**
   - Create EBS snapshots
   - Export CloudTrail logs
   - Capture network traffic
   - Document all actions taken

**Long-term Containment:**
1. **System hardening**
   - Apply security patches
   - Update configurations
   - Strengthen access controls
   - Implement additional monitoring

2. **Backup verification**
   - Verify backup integrity
   - Test restoration procedures
   - Ensure clean backup availability

### Phase 3: Investigation (2-24 hours)

**Forensic Analysis:**
1. **Timeline reconstruction**
   - Analyze log files (CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs, application logs)
   - Correlate events across systems
   - Identify attack vectors
   - Determine scope of compromise

2. **Impact assessment**
   - Identify affected systems and data
   - Assess data confidentiality, integrity, availability
   - Determine business impact
   - Evaluate regulatory implications

3. **Root cause analysis**
   - Identify vulnerabilities exploited
   - Analyze attack techniques
   - Review security controls effectiveness
   - Document lessons learned

**Investigation Tools:**
- AWS CloudTrail for API activity
- VPC Flow Logs for network analysis
- AWS Config for configuration changes
- Third-party SIEM tools
- Forensic imaging tools

### Phase 4: Eradication and Recovery (4-48 hours)

**Eradication:**
1. **Remove threats**
   - Delete malware and backdoors
   - Close attack vectors
   - Patch vulnerabilities
   - Update security configurations

2. **System restoration**
   - Restore from clean backups
   - Rebuild compromised systems
   - Apply security hardening
   - Update credentials and certificates

**Recovery:**
1. **Gradual service restoration**
   - Start with non-critical systems
   - Monitor for suspicious activity
   - Validate system integrity
   - Restore full operations

2. **Enhanced monitoring**
   - Implement additional logging
   - Deploy threat detection rules
   - Increase monitoring frequency
   - Set up alerting for similar patterns

### Phase 5: Post-Incident Activities (1-4 weeks)

**Documentation:**
1. **Incident report**
   - Executive summary
   - Detailed timeline
   - Impact assessment
   - Response actions taken
   - Lessons learned

2. **Regulatory notifications**
   - GDPR breach notification (72 hours)
   - SOX compliance reporting
   - Industry-specific requirements
   - Customer notifications

**Improvement Actions:**
1. **Security enhancements**
   - Implement additional controls
   - Update security policies
   - Enhance monitoring capabilities
   - Conduct security training

2. **Process improvements**
   - Update incident response procedures
   - Improve detection capabilities
   - Enhance team training
   - Test response procedures

## Communication Templates

### Internal Notification

**Subject**: SECURITY INCIDENT - [SEVERITY] - [BRIEF DESCRIPTION]

```
INCIDENT ALERT

Incident ID: SEC-2024-001
Severity: HIGH
Status: ACTIVE
Incident Commander: [Name]

SUMMARY:
[Brief description of the incident]

IMPACT:
[Systems/services affected]

ACTIONS TAKEN:
[Initial response actions]

NEXT STEPS:
[Planned actions and timeline]

CONTACT:
[Incident Commander contact information]
```

### Customer Communication

**Subject**: Security Notice - [Company Name]

```
Dear [Customer Name],

We are writing to inform you of a security incident that may have affected your account. We take the security of your data very seriously and want to provide you with information about what happened and what we are doing about it.

WHAT HAPPENED:
[Clear, non-technical explanation]

WHAT INFORMATION WAS INVOLVED:
[Specific data types affected]

WHAT WE ARE DOING:
[Response actions and improvements]

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
[Recommended customer actions]

We sincerely apologize for this incident and any inconvenience it may cause. If you have questions, please contact us at [contact information].

Sincerely,
[Name and Title]
```

## Tools and Resources

### Detection Tools
- AWS GuardDuty
- AWS Security Hub
- CloudWatch Alarms
- Third-party SIEM
- Intrusion Detection Systems

### Investigation Tools
- AWS CloudTrail
- VPC Flow Logs
- AWS Config
- Forensic analysis tools
- Network monitoring tools

### Communication Tools
- Incident tracking system
- Secure communication channels
- Emergency contact lists
- Notification systems

## Training and Exercises

### Tabletop Exercises

**Quarterly scenarios:**
- Data breach simulation
- Ransomware attack response
- Insider threat investigation
- Supply chain compromise
- Cloud infrastructure attack

### Training Requirements

**Annual training for all team members:**
- Incident response procedures
- Evidence handling
- Communication protocols
- Legal and regulatory requirements
- Tool usage and techniques

## Metrics and KPIs

### Response Metrics
- Mean Time to Detection (MTTD)
- Mean Time to Containment (MTTC)
- Mean Time to Recovery (MTTR)
- Incident escalation time

### Quality Metrics
- False positive rate
- Incident recurrence rate
- Customer satisfaction scores
- Regulatory compliance rate

## Continuous Improvement

### Post-Incident Reviews

**Within 2 weeks of incident closure:**
- Conduct lessons learned session
- Update procedures based on findings
- Implement process improvements
- Share knowledge across teams

### Annual Program Review

**Comprehensive assessment:**
- Review all incidents from the year
- Analyze trends and patterns
- Update playbooks and procedures
- Assess team performance and training needs

---

**Document Version**: 3.2  
**Last Updated**: October 2024  
**Next Review**: January 2025  
**Owner**: Security Operations Team  
**Approved By**: CISO
