Managed Detection & Response (MDR)

Cloud-Native MDR

  • May 9, 2025
  • 0

Sherlocked Security – Cloud-Native MDR

Modern Threat Detection and Response for Cloud-First Workloads

1. Statement of Work (SOW)

Service Name: Cloud-Native Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
Client Type: Cloud-First Enterprises, SaaS Providers, Fintech, Healthtech, and DevOps-Driven Organizations
Service Model: Monthly Retainer, Project-Based Onboarding, or Fully Managed MDR
Cloud Platforms Supported: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), OCI
Compliance Alignment: SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, CIS Benchmarks, NIST 800-53, NIS2, GDPR

Scope of Work Includes:

  • Deployment and tuning of cloud-native threat detection tools (e.g., AWS GuardDuty, Azure Defender, GCP SCC)
  • Continuous monitoring of cloud resources, APIs, and IAM activities
  • Correlation of cloud logs, misconfigurations, anomalies, and potential breaches
  • Real-time alerting and threat response
  • Integration with SIEM, SOAR, and DevSecOps pipelines
  • Detection of account compromise, privilege abuse, lateral movement, and cloud malware
  • Response automation through playbooks (serverless, Terraform, etc.)

2. Our Approach

[Cloud Inventory] → [Detection Tool Setup] → [IAM & API Monitoring] → [Cloud Threat Intelligence] → [Automated Alerting & Response] → [Reporting & Compliance] → [Continuous Hardening]

3. Methodology

  • Cloud Discovery: Automated asset inventory across accounts, subscriptions, and projects
  • Tool Deployment: Enablement and configuration of cloud-native security tools (e.g., GuardDuty, Security Center, SCC)
  • Log Aggregation: Centralized log collection from cloud trail equivalents (CloudTrail, Activity Logs, Audit Logs)
  • Threat Detection: Use native and third-party rules to detect misconfigurations, privilege escalations, token theft, lateral movement, cryptojacking, and suspicious API calls
  • Investigation: Leverage native tools (e.g., Detective, M365 Defender, Chronicle) for investigation
  • Response: Triage alerts, enrich with threat intelligence, and coordinate with internal or third-party SOC teams
  • Hardening Recommendations: Continuous posture checks and improvement plans

4. Deliverables

  • Cloud Threat Reports: Detailed alerts and incident reports across cloud resources
  • IAM Exposure Analysis: Excessive privilege reports, risky roles, and credential misuse
  • Resource Misconfiguration Report: Open storage, exposed secrets, public ports, etc.
  • Attack Path Mapping: Visualization of lateral movement and privilege abuse
  • Monthly Security Posture Reports
  • Remediation Playbooks (Terraform/Shell)

5. Client Requirements

  • Admin or read-only access to cloud environment (AWS/Azure/GCP)
  • Integration access for SIEM/SOAR platforms
  • IAM policies for log ingestion
  • Escalation contacts and incident notification preferences
  • Architecture diagrams or IaC templates (if applicable)
  • Notification channel access (Slack, Teams, Jira, Email)

6. Tooling Stack

  • Cloud-Native Security Tools:

    • AWS: GuardDuty, Config, Detective, Security Hub
    • Azure: Defender for Cloud, Sentinel, Log Analytics
    • GCP: Security Command Center, Chronicle, Forseti

  • Third-Party Tools:

    • Wiz, Orca Security, Lacework, Palo Alto Prisma, Sysdig Secure, Datadog Security

  • Integrations:

    • SIEMs: Splunk, Sumo Logic, Chronicle, Azure Sentinel
    • SOARs: Torq, StackStorm, Tines, XSOAR
    • DevSecOps: GitHub Actions, Terraform Cloud, GitLab CI, ArgoCD

7. Engagement Lifecycle

  1. Cloud Environment Onboarding
  2. Threat Detection Enablement & Hardening Review
  3. Continuous Monitoring Setup
  4. Alert Triage, Investigation, and Response
  5. Monthly/Quarterly Posture Reports
  6. Continuous Optimization & Threat Simulation

8. Why Sherlocked Security?

Feature Sherlocked Advantage
Cloud-Native Coverage Deep integration with native APIs, services, and cloud telemetry
DevOps-Friendly Terraform-based detection as code, serverless automation
Real-Time API Monitoring Detects misuse of tokens, keys, roles, and third-party apps
Cloud-Specific Threat Intel Enriched context for cloud-based attack techniques (MITRE Cloud Matrix)
Proactive Hardening Ongoing recommendations for IAM, S3, VM, KMS, and public exposure

9. Case Study

Cloud Privilege Escalation Detection

Client: Fintech SaaS platform
Event: Detection of privilege escalation from a misconfigured IAM role
Tool Used: AWS GuardDuty, IAM Access Analyzer
Action Taken: Automated revocation of session token via Lambda, alerting DevSecOps and invalidating API keys
Result: Contained a potentially impactful compromise within 4 minutes, zero customer data exposed

10. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

  1. Enumerate all cloud accounts and services
  2. Enable native threat detection and logging features
  3. Integrate logs and telemetry into central analysis pipeline
  4. Configure detections for misconfigurations, privilege abuse, and abnormal usage
  5. Triage alerts and prioritize critical issues
  6. Automate high-confidence responses (e.g., disable user, quarantine VM)
  7. Provide reports and collaborate on remediation
  8. Review configurations monthly for new risks
  9. Simulate attacker techniques quarterly (Cloud TTX or purple team)

11. Readiness Checklist

Pre-Deployment

  • [ ] Identify and list all cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.)
  • [ ] Enable CloudTrail / Audit Logs / Activity Logs
  • [ ] Set up centralized log storage (e.g., S3 + Athena, Azure Monitor)
  • [ ] Create IAM roles or service principals for MDR tooling
  • [ ] Review and approve detection rule templates
  • [ ] Cloud architecture diagrams shared
  • [ ] Baseline posture review completed
  • [ ] Security tooling deployed (native or 3rd party)
  • [ ] Onboarding credentials securely shared

During Monitoring

  • [ ] Alerts categorized and assigned severity levels
  • [ ] Key API activities monitored (CreateRole, AssumeRole, DisableMFA, etc.)
  • [ ] Suspicious user behaviors flagged (geo anomalies, excessive access)
  • [ ] Public exposure risks actively checked (e.g., S3, Blob Storage, GCS buckets)
  • [ ] Unused keys and roles flagged
  • [ ] Real-time detections enriched with asset tags and threat intel
  • [ ] IAM policies continuously reviewed
  • [ ] Cloud malware and container risks monitored
  • [ ] Automated playbooks tested (Lambda, Azure Function, GCP Cloud Function)

Post-Incident

  • [ ] Root cause analysis documented
  • [ ] IOCs and affected resources mapped
  • [ ] Cloud logs and packet captures (if available) archived
  • [ ] IAM roles and tokens rotated
  • [ ] Detection rules updated to prevent recurrence
  • [ ] Cloud firewall/Security Group updates enforced
  • [ ] Postmortem report shared with client
  • [ ] Compliance impact assessed (if applicable)
  • [ ] Response metrics recorded (MTTD, MTTR, FNR/FPR)
  • [ ] Lessons learned debrief with client and SOC team

Continuous Improvement

  • [ ] Quarterly review of IAM roles and usage patterns
  • [ ] Update detection rules based on latest TTPs (e.g., MITRE Cloud Matrix)
  • [ ] New service onboarding workflows defined
  • [ ] Integrate with DevOps pipelines for IaC scanning
  • [ ] Run purple team simulations or threat modeling exercises
  • [ ] Engage in zero-trust reviews and recommendations
  • [ ] Refine telemetry collection and threat context tagging
  • [ ] Improve auto-remediation and rollback mechanisms
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