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Investigate an incident and associated suspicious entities

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During an incident, security analysts are typically tasked with investigating alerts and gathering pertinent information that's associated with the incident. They conduct root cause analyses and correlate information from a range of sources to determine the potential impact to the organization.

Depending on the scenario, analysts may need to analyze logs, examine malware, reverse engineer files or scripts, and investigate URLs that were observed.

An essential component of an investigation involves understanding what remediation steps to take and effectively conveying significant discoveries to keep stakeholders informed about the current state of the incident.

In this example, Copilot for Security is used to perform a comprehensive incident investigation by gathering contextual information from alerts, analyzing a suspicious script, and generating an assessment accompanied by a set of remediation steps.

Steps

  1. Start investigating in Microsoft Defender XDR.

    Copilot for Security is integrated in Microsoft Defender XDR. From an incident page, select the Copilot button to get a summary of an incident and get details such as the time and date of when an attack started, the entity or asset that started the attack, and assets involved in the attack.

    Screenshot of incident summary in Microsoft Defender XDR

  2. Analyze the suspicious script.

    Microsoft Defender XDR flags when a suspicious script executes. Use Copilot for Security to explain what the suspicious script is doing.

    Note

    Script analysis functions are continuously in development. Analysis of scripts in languages other than PowerShell, batch, and bash are being evaluated.

    With a click of a button, a description is displayed along with an overall summary of the script.

    Screenshot of script analyzer in Microsoft Defender XDR

  3. Extend the investigation in Copilot for Security using natural language prompts and more plugins.

    Continue your investigation in the standalone experience of Copilot for Security by selecting Open in Copilot for Security.

    Screenshot of how to investigate by selecting the Open in Copilot for Security button

    The standalone experience allows you to extend the investigation by using natural language prompts.

    Screenshot of analyzed script shown in Copilot for Security

  4. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the incident, use Copilot for Security to gather more information about the suspicious activity seen in the command line script.

    Prompt used:

    What can you tell me about the reputation of the indicators in the script? Are they malicious? If so, why?

    Response:

    Screenshot of a Copilot for Security response

    The response indicates that the several indicators in the script are associated with known threat actors. You can pin this response as a critical piece of information that can be used later.

  5. Use Copilot for Security to provide an assessment of the incident with supporting evidence and a set of recommendations.

    Prompt used:

    Summarize the findings from the investigation and conclude with a set of recommendations.

    Response:

    Screenshot of summary of an incident

    Tip

    You can export the response for future reference. You also have the option of sharing the entire session with other analysts. Other team members who are reviewing the incident can leverage the pin board to get a complete summary of the investigation steps, which saves them valuable time.

    Screenshot of incident report pin board

Conclusion

In this use case, Copilot for Security helped conduct a thorough investigation of an incident. Using natural language, analysts are able to get an explanation of what the suspicious script is doing and verify the indicators in the script are associated with known threat actors.

In addition, Copilot for Security generated an assessment through a summary report and provided a set of recommendations to contain the incident, which can also be used to uplevel skills.