Understanding the Eradication Phase
The Eradication phase in the incident response lifecycle involves the complete removal of any malware, malicious actors, or vulnerabilities that were exploited during the incident. This phase goes beyond simply stopping the immediate impact of the threat; it focuses on addressing the underlying cause to prevent the incident from recurring. Eradication is a pivotal phase because it ensures that the threat has been fully removed from the environment, and any weaknesses are addressed before the system is restored.
The primary goals of the eradication phase are:
Complete Removal of Threats: This involves removing all traces of malware, backdoors, unauthorized access points, or compromised systems.
Root Cause Analysis: Understanding the method and vulnerability exploited by the attacker to initiate the incident.
System Restoration: Ensuring that systems are securely restored to a clean state and are free from any lingering threats.