Automated Forensics Orchestrator for Amazon EC2

AWS EC2 Forensics Orchestrator is a self-service AWS Solution implementation that enterprise customers can deploy to quickly set up and configure an automated orchestration workflow. The workflow enables the Security Operations Centre (SOC) to capture and examine data from EC2 instances and attached volumes as evidence for forensic analysis, in the event of a potential security breach.

The solution orchestrates the forensics process from the point at which a threat is first detected, enable isolation of the affected EC2 instances and data volumes, capture memory and disk images to secure storage, and trigger automated actions or tools for investigation and analysis of such artefacts. The solution notifies and reports on its progress, status, and findings, which enables SOCs to continuously discover and analyze patterns of fraudulent activities across multi-account and multi-region environments. The solution leverages native AWS services and is underpinned by a highly available, resilient, and serverless architecture, security, and operational monitoring features.

Digital forensics is a four step process of triaging, acquisition, analysis and reporting. The automated Forensics framework provides enterprises the capability to act on a security event by imaging or acquisition of breached resource for examination and generates a forensic report about the security breach. In the event of a security breach, it enable customers to easily to capture and examine required targeted data for forsensic’s storage and analysis.

A full walkthrough for the solution can be found here

EC2 Forensic Orchestrator Solution Architecture

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Build and deploy the Forensic stack

Prerequisites

Tools

• The latest version of the AWS CLI (2.2.37 or newer), installed and configured.
  • https://aws.amazon.com/cli/
• The latest version of the AWS CDKV2 (2.2 or newer).
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cdk/latest/guide/home.html
• Forensic and Security Hub AWS accounts are bootstrapped with CDK bootstrapped
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cdk/latest/guide/bootstrapping.html
• nodejs version 16
  • https://docs.npmjs.com/getting-started
• Ensure GraphQL – AppSync is activated in the Forensic AWS account
• AWS Systems Manager (SSM) agent installed on EC2
• Enable SecurityHub as the solution creates a custom action in securityHub Note: We are working on a blog detailing how to use SSM Distributor to deploy agents across a multi account environment.
• Supported EC2 instance AMIs
  • Amazon Linux 2 AMI (HVM) - Kernel 5.10, SSD Volume Type - ami-0a4e637babb7b0a86 (64-bit x86) / ami-0bc96915949503483 (64-bit Arm)
• Python version 3.8 or above

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Build and deploy in a new VPC

Forensic account deployment

1. Clone the solution source code from its GitHub repository. git clone https://github.com/aws-solutions/automated-forensic-orchestrator-for-amazon-ec2.git

2. Open the terminal and navigate to the folder created in step 1, and then navigate to the source folder

3. Configure your application accounts monitored to establish trust relationship in cdk.json "applicationAccounts": ["<<Application account1>>", "<<Application account2>>"],

4. Set AWS Credentials to deploy into the AWS Account

   • export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<>
   • export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<>
   • export AWS_SESSION_TOKEN=<>
   • export AWS_REGION=<<AWS Region - us-east-1>>

5. Run the following commands in the same order as below:

   1. npm ci
   2. npm run build-lambda

6. To build the Forensic Stack to be deployed in the Forensic AWS Account:

   cdk synth -c account=<Forensic AWS Account Number> -c region=<Region> -c sechubaccount=<Security Hub Aggregator Account Number> -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=forensicAccount build the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying forensic stack

   Example:

   cdk synth -c account=1234567890 -c sechubaccount=0987654321 -c region=us-east-1 -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=forensicAccount

7. To deploy the Forensic Stack in the Forensic AWS Account:

   cdk deploy --all -c account=<Forensic AWS Account Number> -c region=<Region> --require-approval=never -c sechubaccount=<Security Hub Aggregator AWS Account Number> -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=forensicAccount Deploy the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying Forensic Solutions stack

   Example:

   cdk deploy --all -c sechubaccount=0987654321 -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=forensicAccount -c account=1234567890 -c region=us-east-1 --require-approval=never

SecurityHub Aggregator account deployment

To push Forensic findings into a Forensic Account, deploy the following stack in the SecurityHub Aggregator account:

Note: If you are reusing the above git clone, delete the cdk.out folder.

1. Clone the solution source code from its GitHub repository. git clone https://github.com/aws-solutions/automated-forensic-orchestrator-for-amazon-ec2.git

2. Open the terminal and navigate to the folder created in step 1, and then navigate to the source folder.

3. Set AWS Credentials to deploy into the AWS Account

   • export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<>
   • export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<>
   • export AWS_SESSION_TOKEN=<>
   • export AWS_REGION=<<AWS Region - us-east-1>>

4. Run the following commands in the same order as below:

   1. npm ci
   2. npm run build

5. To build the Forensic Stack to be deployed in the SecurityHub Aggregator account:

   cdk synth -c sechubaccount=<SecHub Account Number> -c forensicAccount=<ForensicAccount> -c forensicRegion=us-east-1 -c sechubregion=us-east-1 -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=securityHubAccount

   Example:

   cdk synth -c sechubaccount=0987654321 -c forensicAccount=1234567890 -c forensicRegion=us-east-1 -c sechubregion=us-east-1 -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=securityHubAccount

6. To deploy the Forensic Stack in the SecurityHub Aggregator account:

   cdk deploy --all -c sechubaccount=0987654321 -c account=<Security Hub AWS AccountNumber> -c region=us-east-1 --require-approval=never -c forensicAccount=<Forensic AWS AccountNumber> -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=securityHubAccount -c sechubregion=us-east-1 Deploy the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying SecurityHub stack

   Example:

   cdk deploy --all -c sechubaccount=0987654321 -c account=0987654321 -c region=us-east-1 --require-approval=never -c forensicAccount=1234567890 -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=securityHubAccount -c sechubregion=us-east-1 Deploy the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying SecurityHub stack

Application account deployment

Deploy the following cloud formation template in Application account to establish a trust relationship between forensic components deployed in the forensic account and the application account.

1. Cloud formation template is available in folder: Aws-compute-forensics-solution/deployment-prerequisties/cross-account-role.yml
2. Pass the forensic account as input parameter - solutionInstalledAccount.

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Build and deploy in an existing VPC

Forensic account deployment

1. Clone the solution source code from its GitHub repository.

2. Open the terminal and navigate to the folder created in step 1, and then navigate to the source folder.

3. Update cdk.json to configure isExistingVPC to true and add vpcID to the vpcConfigDetails section.

   "vpcConfigDetails": {
       "isExistingVPC": true,
       "vpcID": "vpc-1234567890"
       "enableVPCEndpoints": false,
       "enableVpcFlowLog": false
   }
   

4. Configure your application accounts monitored to establish trust relationship in cdk.json "applicationAccounts": ["<<Application account1>>", "<<Application account2>>"],

5. Set AWS Credentials to deploy into the AWS Account

   • export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<>
   • export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<>
   • export AWS_SESSION_TOKEN=<>
   • export AWS_REGION=<<AWS Region - us-east-1>>

6. Run the following commands in the same order as below:

   1. npm ci
   2. npm run build-lambda

7. To build the Forensic Stack to be deployed in the Forensic AWS Account:

   cdk synth -c account=<<Forensic AWS Account>> -c region=<<Forensic solution Region>> -c secHubAccount=<<SecuHub Aggregator Account>> -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=forensicAccount build the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying forensic stack

   Example:

   cdk synth -c account=1234567890 -c secHubAccount=0987654321 -c region=us-east-1 -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=forensicAccount

8. To deploy the Forensic Stack in the Forensic AWS Account:

   cdk deploy --all -c account=<<Forensic AWS Account>> -c region=<<Forensic solution Region>> --require-approval=never -c secHubAccount=<<SecuirtyHub Aggregator AWS Account>> Deploy the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying Forensic Solutions stack

   Example:

   cdk deploy —all -c secHubAccount=0987654321 -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=forensicAccount -c account=1234567890 -c region=ap-southeast-2 —require-approval=never

SecurityHub Aggregator account deployment

To push Forensic findings into a Forensic Account, deploy the following stack in SecurityHub Aggregator account.

Note: If you are reusing the above git clone, delete the cdk.out folder.

1. Clone the solution source code from its GitHub repository.

2. Open the terminal and navigate to the folder created in step 1, and then navigate to the source folder.

3. Update cdk.json to configure isExistingVPC to true and add vpcID to the vpcConfigDetails section.

   "vpcConfigDetails": {
       "isExistingVPC": true,
       "vpcID": "vpc-1234567890"
       "enableVPCEndpoints": false,
       "enableVpcFlowLog": false
   }
   

4. Set AWS Credentials to deploy into the AWS Account

   • export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<>
   • export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<>
   • export AWS_SESSION_TOKEN=<>
   • export AWS_REGION=<<AWS Region - us-east-1>>

5. Run the following commands in the same order as below:

   1. npm ci
   2. npm run build-lambda

6. To build the Forensic Stack to be deployed in SecurityHub Aggregator account:

   cdk synth -c sechubaccount=<<SecHub Account>> -c forensicAccount=<<Forensic Account>> -c forensicRegion=<<Forensic solution Region>> -c sechubregion=<<Security Hub Region>> -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=securityHubAccount

   Example:

   cdk synth -c sechubaccount=0987654321 -c forensicAccount=1234567890 -c forensicRegion=ap-southeast-2 -c sechubregion=ap-southeast-2 -c STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=securityHubAccount

7. To deploy the Forensic Stack loyed in SecurityHub Aggregator account:

   cdk deploy --all -c account=<<SecuirtyHub AWS Account>> -c region=<<Forensic solution Region>> --require-approval=never -c forensicAccount=<<Forensic AWS Account>> Deploy the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying SecurityHub stack

   Example:

   cdk deploy --all -c account=0987654321 -c region=ap-southeast-2 --require-approval=never -c forensicAccount=1234567890 Deploy the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying SecurityHub stack

Application account deployment

Deploy the following cloud formation template in Application account to establish a trust relationship between forensic components deployed in the Forensic account and the Application account.

1. Cloud formation template is available in folder Aws-compute-forensics-solution/deployment-prerequisties/cross-account-role.yml
2. Pass the forensic account as input parameter - solutionInstalledAccount.

Uninstall the solution

To uninstall the solution, you can either:

• Run cdk destroy --all from the source folder, or
• Delete the stack from the CloudFormation console. To delete using the AWS Management Console:
  1. Sign in to the AWS CloudFormation console.
  2. Select this solution’s installation stack.
  3. Choose Delete.

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Initialize the Repository

After successfully cloning the repository into your local development environment, you will see the following file structure in your editor:

|- .github/ ...               - resources for open-source contributions.
|- source/                    - all source code, scripts, tests, etc.
  |- bin/
    |- forensic-cdk-solution.ts - the CDK app that wraps your solution for building forensic stacks
  |- deployment-prerequisties - Cross account stack deployment to trust forensic stack
  |- lambda/                  - Contains lambda python code
  |- lib/
    |- forensic-solution-builder-stack.ts  - the main CDK stack for your solution.
  |- cdk.json                 - config file for CDK.
  |- jest.config.js           - config file for unit tests.
  |- package.json             - package file for the CDK project.
  |- README.md                - doc file for the CDK project.
  |- run-all-tests.sh         - runs all tests within the /source folder. Referenced in the buildspec and build scripts.
|- .gitignore
|- .viperlightignore          - Viperlight scan ignore configuration  (accepts file, path, or line item).
|- .viperlightrc              - Viperlight scan configuration.
|- buildspec.yml              - main build specification for CodeBuild to perform builds and execute unit tests.
|- CHANGELOG.md               - required for every solution to include changes based on version to auto-build release notes.
|- CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md         - standardized open source file for all solutions.
|- CONTRIBUTING.md            - standardized open source file for all solutions.
|- LICENSE.txt                - required open source file for all solutions - should contain the Apache 2.0 license.
|- NOTICE.txt                 - required open source file for all solutions - should contain references to all 3rd party libraries.
|- README.md                  - required file for all solutions.

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Build your Forensic Orchestrator CDK project

Once you have initialized the repository, you can make changes to the code. As you work through the development process, the following commands may be useful for periodic testing and/or formal testing once development is completed. These commands are CDK-related and should be run at the /source level of your project.

CDK commands:

• cdk init - creates a new, empty CDK project that can be used with your AWS account.
• cdk synth - synthesizes and prints the CloudFormation template generated from your CDK project to the CLI.
• cdk deploy - deploys your CDK project into your AWS account. Useful for validating a full build run as well as performing functional/integration testing of the solution architecture.

Additional scripts related to building, testing, and cleaning-up assets may be found in the package.json file or in similar locations for your selected CDK language. You can also run cdk -h in the terminal for details on additional commands.

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Run Unit Tests

Prerequisites

Python version 3.9.x. We recommend setting up pyenv.

Tests for Python code of the lambdas

• make help lists all the command
• make virtualenv creates a Python virtualenv for development
• source .venv/bin/activate activates the virtual environment
• make test runs the test (includes format, lint and static check)
• make fmt only runs format
• make lint only runs lint
• make lint-strict only runs lint with additional check
• make install installs all dependency
• make lock-version locks the version if there is any latest version dependency (e.g no version specified)
• make check-py-version a prerequisite for build execution, is relied upon by tasks test and virtualenv

The /source/run-all-tests.sh script is the centralized script for running all unit, integration, and snapshot tests for both the CDK project as well as any associated Lambda functions or other source code packages.

Note: It is the developer's responsibility to ensure that all test commands are called in this script, and that it is kept up to date.

This script is called from the solution build scripts to ensure that specified tests are passing while performing build, validation and publishing tasks via the pipeline.

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Build RHEL kernel symbol for memory analytics support of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

1. after deploy the solution, go to the solution aws account
2. goto aws console Step Functions find stepfunction Forensic-Profile-Function
3. trigger the build by adding input as follow

{
  "amiId": "ami-0b6c020bf93af9ce1",
  "distribution": "RHEL8"
}

where ami-0b6c020bf93af9ce1 is the base image AMI for RHEL8, you need a RedHat subscription to do that. see more on https://www.redhat.com/en/store/linux-platforms 4. the stepfunction will take care of the symbol building process, once it's done the forensic solution will be able to support RHEL8

Useful commands

• npm run all Builds all necessary components
• cdk deploy ForensicSolutionStack Deploys VPC and Forensic Stack in forensic account
• cdk deploy ForensicImageBuilderStack Builds and deploys Image builder pipeline
• npm run all Builds all necessary components
• npm run watch Watches for changes and compile
• npm run test Performs the jest unit tests
• cdk diff Compares deployed stack with current state
• cdk synth Emits the synthesized CloudFormation template
• Steps to build the Forensic Stack to be deployed in Forensic AWS Account
  • export STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=forensicAccount - Sets the environment variable as forensic Account to build the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying forensic stack
  • cdk synth -c account=<<Forensic AWS Account>> -c region=ap-southeast-2 build the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying forensic stack
• Steps to build the Forensic Stack to be deployed in SecurityHub AWS Account
  • export STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=securityHubAccount - Sets the environment variable as SecurityHubAccount Account to build the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying SecurityHub stack
  • cdk synth -c account=<<SecuirtyHub AWS Account>> -c region=ap-southeast-2 Build the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying SecurityHub stack
• Steps to deploy the Forensic Stack in Forensic AWS Account
  • export STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=forensicAccount - Sets the environment variable as forensic Account to build the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying forensic stack
  • cdk deploy --all -c account=<<Forensic AWS Account>> -c region=ap-southeast-2 --require-approval=never -c secHubAccount=<<SecuirtyHub AWS Account>> Deploy the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying Forensic Solutions stack
• Steps to deploy the Forensic Stack in SecurityHub AWS Account
  • export STACK_BUILD_TARGET_ACCT=securityHubAccount - Sets the environment variable as SecurityHubAccount Account to build the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying SecurityHub stack
  • cdk deploy --all -c account=<<SecuirtyHub AWS Account>> -c region=ap-southeast-2 --require-approval=never -c forensicAccount=<<Forensic AWS Account>> Deploy the necessary CDK CFN templates for deploying SecurityHub stack

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Licensed under the Apache License Version 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. A copy of the License is located at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/

or in the "license" file accompanying this file. This file is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.