Rapid Breach Detection and Validation

Early detection dramatically reduces breach impact, but distinguishing real breaches from false positives requires sophisticated validation. Modern detection systems combine multiple signals—anomalous access patterns, unexpected data movements, and behavioral deviations—to identify potential breaches. Machine learning models trained on historical incidents improve detection accuracy while reducing alert fatigue.
Validation procedures must balance speed with accuracy. Automated validation checks quickly eliminate obvious false positives, while escalating uncertain cases for human review. Playbooks guide analysts through validation steps, ensuring consistent evaluation regardless of who responds. Integration with threat intelligence provides context about known attack patterns and indicators of compromise.
// Example: Breach detection and validation system
class BreachDetectionValidator {
    constructor(config) {
        this.config = config;
        this.mlDetector = new MLAnomalyDetector();
        this.threatIntel = new ThreatIntelligenceClient();
        this.validators = this.initializeValidators();
    }
    
    async validatePotentialBreach(alert) {
        const validationContext = {
            alert,
            timestamp: new Date(),
            validationSteps: [],
            confidence: 0,
            indicators: []
        };
        
        // Step 1: Context enrichment
        await this.enrichAlertContext(validationContext);
        
        // Step 2: Run validation pipeline
        for (const validator of this.validators) {
            const result = await validator.validate(validationContext);
            validationContext.validationSteps.push({
                validator: validator.name,
                result: result.outcome,
                confidence: result.confidence,
                indicators: result.indicators
            });
            
            // Update overall confidence
            validationContext.confidence = this.updateConfidence(
                validationContext.confidence,
                result.confidence,
                validator.weight
            );
            
            // Early termination for high-confidence results
            if (validationContext.confidence > 0.95 || 
                validationContext.confidence < 0.05) {
                break;
            }
        }
        
        // Step 3: Determine breach classification
        const classification = this.classifyBreach(validationContext);
        
        // Step 4: Generate validation report
        return {
            isValidBreach: classification.confidence > this.config.breachThreshold,
            confidence: classification.confidence,
            severity: classification.severity,
            breachType: classification.type,
            affectedData: classification.affectedData,
            validationReport: this.generateValidationReport(validationContext),
            recommendedActions: this.getRecommendedActions(classification)
        };
    }
    
    initializeValidators() {
        return [
            new PatternValidator({
                name: 'known_breach_patterns',
                weight: 0.3,
                patterns: this.loadBreachPatterns()
            }),
            new VolumeValidator({
                name: 'data_volume_anomaly',
                weight: 0.25,
                thresholds: this.config.volumeThresholds
            }),
            new AccessValidator({
                name: 'unauthorized_access',
                weight: 0.25,
                accessPolicies: this.config.accessPolicies
            }),
            new BehavioralValidator({
                name: 'behavioral_anomaly',
                weight: 0.2,
                mlModel: this.mlDetector
            })
        ];
    }
    
    async enrichAlertContext(context) {
        // Add user context
        if (context.alert.userId) {
            context.userProfile = await this.getUserProfile(
                context.alert.userId
            );
            context.userHistory = await this.getUserAccessHistory(
                context.alert.userId,
                { days: 30 }
            );
        }
        
        // Add system context
        if (context.alert.systemId) {
            context.systemProfile = await this.getSystemProfile(
                context.alert.systemId
            );
            context.systemBaseline = await this.getSystemBaseline(
                context.alert.systemId
            );
        }
        
        // Add threat intelligence
        context.threatIntel = await this.threatIntel.checkIndicators({
            ips: context.alert.sourceIps || [],
            domains: context.alert.domains || [],
            hashes: context.alert.fileHashes || [],
            patterns: context.alert.patterns || []
        });
        
        // Add data classification
        if (context.alert.affectedData) {
            context.dataClassification = await this.classifyAffectedData(
                context.alert.affectedData
            );
        }
    }
    
    classifyBreach(validationContext) {
        const classification = {
            confidence: validationContext.confidence,
            type: 'unknown',
            severity: 'low',
            affectedData: []
        };
        
        // Determine breach type based on indicators
        const indicators = validationContext.validationSteps
            .flatMap(step => step.indicators);
        
        if (indicators.includes('ransomware_pattern')) {
            classification.type = 'ransomware';
            classification.severity = 'critical';
        } else if (indicators.includes('data_exfiltration')) {
            classification.type = 'data_theft';
            classification.severity = 'high';
        } else if (indicators.includes('unauthorized_modification')) {
            classification.type = 'data_tampering';
            classification.severity = 'high';
        } else if (indicators.includes('privilege_escalation')) {
            classification.type = 'access_breach';
            classification.severity = 'medium';
        }
        
        // Assess affected data
        if (validationContext.dataClassification) {
            classification.affectedData = 
                validationContext.dataClassification.categories;
            
            // Increase severity for sensitive data
            if (classification.affectedData.includes('pii') ||
                classification.affectedData.includes('financial')) {
                classification.severity = this.increaseSeverity(
                    classification.severity
                );
            }
        }
        
        return classification;
    }
}

class ForensicsCollector {
    constructor(config) {
        this.config = config;
        this.storage = new ForensicStorage(config.storagePath);
        this.hasher = new CryptographicHasher();
    }
    
    async preserveEvidence(incident) {
        const collection = {
            incidentId: incident.incident_id,
            startTime: new Date(),
            artifacts: []
        };
        
        // Memory dumps
        if (this.config.collectMemoryDumps) {
            const memoryArtifacts = await this.collectMemoryDumps(
                incident.affected_systems
            );
            collection.artifacts.push(...memoryArtifacts);
        }
        
        // System logs
        const logArtifacts = await this.collectSystemLogs(
            incident.affected_systems,
            {
                startTime: new Date(incident.detected_at.getTime() - 24*60*60*1000),
                endTime: new Date()
            }
        );
        collection.artifacts.push(...logArtifacts);
        
        // Network captures
        const networkArtifacts = await this.collectNetworkCaptures(
            incident.affected_systems
        );
        collection.artifacts.push(...networkArtifacts);
        
        // Database audit logs
        const dbArtifacts = await this.collectDatabaseAudits(
            incident.data_categories
        );
        collection.artifacts.push(...dbArtifacts);
        
        // Create forensic image
        const image = await this.createForensicImage(collection);
        
        // Maintain chain of custody
        await this.maintainChainOfCustody(image);
        
        return image;
    }
    
    async createForensicImage(collection) {
        // Create tamper-evident container
        const container = {
            id: this.generateImageId(),
            incidentId: collection.incidentId,
            created: new Date(),
            artifacts: [],
            integrity: {}
        };
        
        for (const artifact of collection.artifacts) {
            // Calculate hash for integrity
            const hash = await this.hasher.hashArtifact(artifact.data);
            
            // Encrypt sensitive data
            const encrypted = await this.encryptArtifact(
                artifact.data,
                artifact.classification
            );
            
            // Store with metadata
            const stored = await this.storage.storeArtifact({
                id: artifact.id,
                type: artifact.type,
                source: artifact.source,
                collected: artifact.timestamp,
                hash: hash,
                data: encrypted,
                metadata: artifact.metadata
            });
            
            container.artifacts.push({
                id: stored.id,
                type: artifact.type,
                hash: hash,
                size: artifact.data.length,
                collected: artifact.timestamp
            });
        }
        
        // Sign container for integrity
        container.integrity = await this.signContainer(container);
        
        return container;
    }
}