Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) Use Cases

5 CDR use cases

Cloud environments offer modern enterprises unparalleled scalability and flexibility. However, the shift to the cloud over the last decade has also introduced new security challenges. Attackers are constantly finding creative ways to exploit cloud infrastructures. Protecting these environments requires measures that traditional security is unable to provide. Enterprises need robust detection and response capabilities tailored for the cloud.

Cloud detection and response (CDR) focuses on identifying and mitigating threats in real time. It works to ensure cloud workloads, applications, and data remain secure. By combining AI-native analytics, continuous monitoring, and automated incident response, CDR empowers organizations to act quickly and effectively when threats emerge.

What might CDR look like in action? In this article, we’ll explore five real-world use cases where CDR plays a critical role. Let’s dig in.

What are the top CDR use cases?

1. Unusual API access to sensitive data

2. Compromised cloud-native application behavior

3. Detecting and isolating cross/multi domain attacks

4. Ransomware infiltration in a cloud workload

5. Lateral movement after initial compromise

Use Case 1: Unusual API access to sensitive data

Your cloud storage service—like AWS S3 or Google Cloud Storage—houses highly sensitive data. You might have personally identifiable information (PII) from customers, protected health information (PHI) from patients, or intellectual property related to your business operations. Because the target is so lucrative, threat actors frequently go after these data resources, leveraging misconfigurations or stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access.

Scenario

An IAM role begins making unusual API calls to an S3 bucket containing sensitive PII. Upon investigation, it’s discovered that the bucket’s access policy was unintentionally misconfigured to allow public access without authentication. The attacker exploited this vulnerability to access and exfiltrate data.

A CDR solution monitors access patterns and detects anomalies in real time. In this scenario, here is the role that CDR would play:

• Analyzes configuration vulnerabilities: Evaluates the bucket’s access policy and flags the public access misconfiguration as a risk.
• Initiates response: Automatically alerts the security team and blocks the suspicious API activity. Possibly quarantines the affected IAM role to prevent further damage.
• Provides actionable insights: Delivers a detailed report of the incident, including the attacker’s methods, the misconfiguration, and recommended remediation steps to prevent future exploits.

With these capabilities, CDR minimizes the attacker’s window of opportunity and ensures sensitive data remains secure, even if the original threat evolves.

Use Case 2: Compromised cloud-native application behavior

Cloud-native applications—powered by containers, serverless architectures, or Kubernetes clusters—are essential for modern businesses. They’re dynamic and frequently updated, but that also makes them the frequent target of attackers seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in their design or deployment.

Scenario

A Kubernetes-based application begins exfiltrating data to an unknown IP address after being compromised through a vulnerable container. The attacker exploited a misconfigured container image, installed malicious code, and initiated unauthorized data transfers, putting your company’s sensitive information at risk.

A CDR solution steps in to detect and respond to such threats. Here’s how:

• Correlates behaviors: Uses behavioral analysis to determine that the container is exhibiting unusual patterns compared to its normal activity.
• Isolates the compromised container: Automatically quarantines the affected container to stop further data exfiltration and to prevent lateral movement within the environment.
• Enables remediation: Provides detailed insights regarding the vulnerability, along with actionable steps for mitigation, including patching and improving the container’s security baseline.

CDR ensures that even complex cloud-native applications remain protected, with swift detection and containment limiting the potential damage.

Use Case 3: Detecting and isolating cross/multi-domain attacks

Modern cloud ecosystems are inherently interconnected, with applications, services, and identities spanning multiple cloud providers and infrastructures. This complexity has become a prime target for attackers who exploit gaps in visibility and security between domains to execute sophisticated cross-domain attacks. These attacks often begin with compromised credentials or misconfigurations in one domain, allowing adversaries to pivot across endpoints, identity systems, and cloud environments to achieve their objectives.

Scenario

An adversary gains initial access to a cloud account by leveraging stolen API keys found on a public repository. Using this foothold, they enumerate resources in the first cloud provider (Cloud A), locate cloud access credentials stored in a misconfigured application, and use these to infiltrate another provider’s environment (Cloud B). From there, the attacker escalates privileges, accesses sensitive customer data, and sets up persistence mechanisms to maintain control.

How cloud detection and response (CDR) addresses this challenge

1. Identifies Cross-Domain Threats in Real Time: CDR integrates runtime workload telemetry with cloud-specific attack indicators, continuously analyzing activity across domains. In this case, it detects the enumeration attempts in Cloud A and correlates them with suspicious activity in Cloud B, such as privilege escalations and data exfiltration.

2. Prevents Attack Progression: By applying behavioral analysis, CDR recognizes abnormal patterns like accessing resources outside typical usage or using credentials inconsistently across domains. Automated responses isolate the compromised accounts and terminate suspicious sessions before the attacker can progress further.

3. Provides Unified Attack Path Visualization: Through a comprehensive investigation timeline, CDR maps the adversary’s steps across both cloud providers, detailing initial access, lateral movement, and escalation tactics. This enables the security team to rapidly understand the scope and impact of the attack.

4. Improves Future Resilience: Insights gained from runtime detection inform preventive measures, such as implementing stricter credential management practices, enhancing identity access controls, and enforcing configurations that reduce attack surfaces across all domains.

By addressing the gaps between traditional security tools, CDR empowers organizations to defend against increasingly complex cross-domain attacks, ensuring the security and resilience of modern cloud infrastructures.

Use Case 4: Ransomware infiltration in a cloud workload

Ransomware attacks are a pervasive threat. The connected nature of cloud infrastructure makes it an attractive target for attackers seeking to encrypt critical files and demand ransom for their release.

Scenario

A virtual machine (VM) in your cloud environment begins encrypting files across shared storage after being infected by ransomware. The attack originated from a phishing email containing a malicious link that compromised a user’s account, enabling the attacker to deploy ransomware across the organization’s cloud workloads.

A CDR solution would handle such ransomware incidents by doing the following:

• Detects unusual encryption activity: Identifies the abnormal file modifications characteristic of ransomware and flags the VM’s behavior as suspicious.
• Isolates the infected VM: Automatically quarantines the compromised VM to prevent the ransomware from spreading to other workloads or shared resources.
• Triggers automated response: Initiates workflows to block the attacker’s access and stop ongoing encryption activities, while simultaneously alerting the security team to the incident.
• Enables data recovery: Integrates with backup systems to facilitate automated recovery processes, ensuring affected files can be restored without needing to pay the ransom.
• Provides forensic data: Supplies insights into the origin of the attack, such as the compromised user account, and recommendations to prevent future incidents.

By detecting ransomware early and responding swiftly, CDR minimizes downtime, protects critical data, and eliminates the leverage attackers rely on to extract ransom payments.

Use Case 5: Lateral movement after initial compromise

After gaining an initial foothold, attackers often aim to move laterally within a cloud environment. By exploiting stolen credentials or misconfigured permissions, they attempt to escalate privileges and access sensitive systems, potentially leading to significant data breaches or operational disruptions.

Scenario

An attacker obtains an API key inadvertently exposed in a public code repository. Using this key, they authenticate into the cloud environment and begin probing for additional vulnerabilities. After escalating privileges, the attacker gains access to a database containing sensitive customer data.

A CDR solution can identify and mitigate lateral movement within cloud environments. Here’s how it helps:

• Enables comprehensive investigation: Provides a detailed incident report, mapping out the attacker’s path, the exploited vulnerabilities, and steps for remediation.
• Enhances future defenses: Recommends policy changes, such as improved key management practices and implementing stricter monitoring for unusual API activity.

By disrupting lateral movement quickly, CDR prevents attackers from exploiting your broader cloud environment, safeguarding critical systems and sensitive data from further compromise.

Always-on cloud protection with CrowdStrike

Cloud environments are dynamic and inherently complex. Naturally, this makes them a prime target for sophisticated attacks. CDR is critical for ensuring security across your cloud workloads, applications, and data. It works to detect threats, responding swiftly and minimizing the potential damage of security incidents.

CDR from CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security enables real-time threat detection and behavioral analysis to quickly identify and block malicious activity—such as ransomware attacks, insider threats, or lateral movement—within your cloud environments. For unmatched visibility and 24/7 protection, modern enterprises couple these capabilities with Falcon Complete Next-Gen Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Falcon Counter Adversary Operations threat intelligence and hunting.

To learn more about how CrowdStrike’s always-on cloud protection can enhance your organization’s security, contact a CrowdStrike representative today.