Playbook Objectives

• • To assess and enhance the readiness of the company against sophisticated cyber threats
  • To facilitate the development of a comprehensive cybersecurity policy that mitigates risks
  • To practice the execution of the cybersecurity policy in a controlled environment
  • To identify gaps in incident response strategies and improve on them
  • To train IT staff and management in recognizing and responding to cyber incidents

Difficulty Level

• • Advanced: This exercise is intended for an organization with a mature IT infrastructure and dedicated cybersecurity personnel.

Scenario

• • Company Name: FinSecure Inc.
  • Industry: Financial Services
  • Background: FinSecure Inc. is a mid-sized fintech company specializing in online transactions and asset management services. Given the sensitivity of financial data and regulatory compliances like GDPR and PCI-DSS, FinSecure Inc. recognizes the dire need for a robust cybersecurity policy.
  • Story: Over the past six months, FinSecure Inc. has noticed an uptick in phishing attempts and suspicious network activities suggesting that the company might be a target for a sophisticated cyber-attack. Competitor breach analysis reveals that attackers increasingly employ tactics such as social engineering, ransomware, and persistent threats. FinSecure Inc. decides to proactively address these vulnerabilities by simulating a realistic attack scenario within a Cyber Range to stress test their current cybersecurity policy and to develop a tuned and actionable response playbook.
  • People/Characters:
    • Jane Doe, CISO of FinSecure Inc.
    • John Smith, Lead Network Engineer
    • Alice Johnson, Incident Response (IR) Team Leader
    • Cyber Attack Simulation Team (CAST)
  • Network/Systems:
    • Internal network with client data servers
    • Employee workstations (both office and remote)
    • Email servers and web application servers for online transactions
    • Backup and disaster recovery sites

Category

• • Cybersecurity Policy Development and Execution

Exercise Attack Steps

• • Stage 1: Intelligence Gathering
    • The CAST will perform reconnaissance to gather information about FinSecure’s employees, network infrastructure, and public-facing applications.
  • Stage 2: Initial Compromise
    • A phishing campaign is launched targeting multiple departments, simulating a spear-phishing attack aimed at compromising email credentials.
  • Stage 3: Establishing Foothold
    • Upon successful credential theft, the CAST escalates privileges to gain persistent access to the FinSecure network.
  • Stage 4: Lateral Movement
    • The simulation includes the CAST leveraging the compromised credentials to access sensitive areas of the network, such as financial data stores and transaction servers.
  • Stage 5: Exfiltration Simulation
    • CAST begins simulation of data exfiltration processes, aiming to mimic the transfer of sensitive financial data out of the company’s network.
  • Stage 6: Ransomware Deployment
    • Encrypted critical systems are deployed to understand the company’s capability in handling ransomware infection and business continuity.
  • Stage 7: Incident Response Execution
    • The IR team is tasked with identifying the attack, containing it, eradicating the threat, recovering systems, and documenting the process.
  • Stage 8: Policy Development Drill
    • Based on the lessons learned, FinSecure’s cybersecurity policy is refined to address weaknesses and enhance resilience.
  • Stage 9: Execution and Review
    • A secondary, unannounced drill is conducted to test the execution of the updated policy and measure the response improvements.
  • Stage 10: Feedback and Adjustment Cycle
    • Gather feedback from participants, evaluate the efficacy of the response, and make necessary adjustments to the cybersecurity policy and training programs.