Investigate ransomware and BEC incidents from attack disruption
5 minutes
5 Questions
Attack disruption is a powerful Microsoft Defender XDR capability that automatically contains ongoing attacks, limiting their impact while security analysts investigate. When ransomware or Business Email Compromise (BEC) incidents trigger attack disruption, specific investigation procedures should …Attack disruption is a powerful Microsoft Defender XDR capability that automatically contains ongoing attacks, limiting their impact while security analysts investigate. When ransomware or Business Email Compromise (BEC) incidents trigger attack disruption, specific investigation procedures should be followed.
For ransomware incidents, analysts should first review the attack disruption actions taken, such as device isolation or user account suspension. Examine the attack story timeline to understand the initial access vector, whether through phishing, exploited vulnerabilities, or compromised credentials. Identify all affected assets by reviewing the incident graph showing lateral movement patterns. Analyze which files were encrypted and check for data exfiltration indicators. Review the automatic evidence collection including process trees, file hashes, and network connections. Validate that containment actions are sufficient and determine if additional manual remediation is required.
For BEC incidents, attack disruption typically suspends compromised user accounts to prevent further malicious email activity. Investigators should examine the email timeline to identify phishing messages that led to credential theft. Review sign-in logs for suspicious authentication patterns, including unusual locations or devices. Check for inbox rules created by attackers to hide their activities. Analyze any financial fraud attempts, such as wire transfer requests or invoice manipulation. Examine OAuth application consents that may have been granted during the compromise.
In both scenarios, analysts should document the attack chain thoroughly, correlate alerts across endpoints, identities, and cloud apps, and assess the full scope of compromise. After investigation, review whether automatic containment actions should be maintained or modified. Coordinate with stakeholders for business continuity decisions. Finally, generate detailed incident reports documenting findings, timeline, affected assets, and remediation steps taken. Understanding the attack disruption feature allows analysts to respond more effectively while automated protections buy valuable investigation time.
Investigate Ransomware and BEC Incidents from Attack Disruption
Why This Is Important
Ransomware and Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks are among the most damaging cyber threats organizations face today. Understanding how to investigate these incidents using Microsoft's attack disruption capabilities is critical for security operations analysts. Attack disruption automatically contains active attacks, limiting their impact while giving analysts time to investigate and remediate. This knowledge is essential for the SC-200 exam and real-world security operations.
What Is Attack Disruption?
Attack disruption is an automated capability in Microsoft Defender XDR that identifies high-confidence active attacks and takes containment actions automatically. For ransomware and BEC attacks, the system can:
• Contain compromised user accounts by suspending sign-in capabilities • Contain compromised devices by isolating them from the network • Block malicious activities before encryption or financial fraud occurs
How Attack Disruption Works
1. Detection Phase: Microsoft Defender XDR correlates signals across endpoints, identities, email, and cloud apps to identify attack patterns consistent with ransomware or BEC.
2. Automatic Response: When high-confidence attacks are detected, the system automatically takes containment actions such as disabling user accounts or isolating devices.
3. Incident Creation: An incident is created with the tag Attack Disruption indicating automated actions were taken.
4. Investigation: Analysts review the incident timeline, examine the attack story, and validate the automated actions taken.
Investigating Ransomware Incidents
When investigating ransomware attacks after disruption:
• Review the Attack Story tab to understand the full attack chain • Examine which devices were contained and why • Check for lateral movement attempts across the environment • Validate that encryption activities were stopped • Review file modifications and process execution timelines
Investigating BEC Incidents
For BEC attack investigations:
• Review compromised user account activities • Examine inbox rules created by attackers • Check for email forwarding configurations • Review sign-in logs for suspicious locations or impossible travel • Identify any financial fraud attempts or data exfiltration
Key Actions for Analysts
After attack disruption occurs, analysts should:
• Validate that the disruption was appropriate and not a false positive • Determine the full scope of the compromise • Release contained assets after confirming they are clean • Document lessons learned and improve detection rules
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Investigate Ransomware and BEC Incidents from Attack Disruption
• Remember the automatic actions: Know that attack disruption can suspend users and isolate devices automatically for high-confidence attacks.
• Understand the incident tags: Look for the Attack Disruption tag when identifying incidents where automated containment occurred.
• Know the investigation sequence: Questions often test your understanding of reviewing the attack story first, then examining contained assets, and finally releasing them after validation.
• Differentiate ransomware vs. BEC indicators: Ransomware focuses on device containment and file encryption prevention, while BEC focuses on user account suspension and email rule examination.
• Focus on the Microsoft Defender XDR portal: All investigation activities for attack disruption occur in the unified security portal at security.microsoft.com.
• Understand release procedures: Know that contained users and devices must be manually released by analysts after investigation confirms the threat is remediated.
• Remember correlation is key: Attack disruption relies on correlating signals across multiple Microsoft Defender products to achieve high-confidence detections.