Scheduling Tasks
Proactive DFIR and automated threat analysis by scheduling AIR Evidence Collections
Scheduling tasks in AIR not only enables the automation of acquisitions and DRONE analysis, but it transforms AIR into a proactive DFIR platform. By setting up scheduled tasks for regular collections and automated DRONE analysis, AIR can proactively identify issues that might well go unnoticed by other security systems.
Instead of waiting for alerts from external sources, AIR takes the initiative to regularly collect and analyze assets according to a predefined schedule and acquisition profile. This proactive approach allows organizations to stay ahead of potential threats and vulnerabilities by detecting issues early on, even before they manifest as security incidents.
By incorporating the scheduling of tasks into security operations, organizations can enhance defense strategies and bolster their overall security posture. Additionally, it ensures that the 'best evidence' is automatically acquired and forensically preserved, facilitating further investigation when needed.
Investigators simply use the tasking wizard to schedule tasks the following activities:
Evidence collections.
Triage/Threat Hunting.
Disk and Volume Imaging.
Auto Asset Tagging.
To set up a scheduled task please follow the steps below:
Step 1 - Assets
Choose the Asset(s) on which you wish to shedule tasks - the Bulk Action Bar will be avaiable if yo choose more than one asset
Create a Task Name if required
Allocate the task to a case
Select 'Schedule for later'
Step 2 - Setup
Choose the timezone that will determine when the task is executed. You have the flexibility to execute the task in the local timezone of each selected asset or simultaneously across all assets by choosing a single timezone.
Select a start date and time for the task.
If required toggle on the Repeat switch and set the cadence/recurrence rate.
Select when or whether you want to end the schedule.
Lastly, choose the acquisition profile you wish to apply for the scheduled task.
Note: Scheduled tasks cannot be repeated for a case. If a case is closed, the scheduled task will remain without a destination case to be assigned to.
Step 3 - Customization
This step allows you to use the policies already set as an organizational policy or, if you have the necessary privileges, make changes to:
Where the collected evidence is to be saved.
Apply Resource limit to the task assignment to reduce potential impacts on the asset.
Enable compression and encryption to be applied to the collected evidence.
Step 4 - Follow Up
In this final step you can enable or disable the DRONE and MITRE ATT&CK Analyzers
We highly recommend keeping both analyzers active as they have minimal impact on resources. The MITRE ATT&CK analyzer runs on live assets and, when combined with other analyzers, facilitates immediate identification of potentially compromised assets. This allows for efficient prioritization of investigative efforts.
The results of scheduled tasks and their associated reports can be found in three places:
Tasks that are accessed via the main menu.
The page for the individual Asset > Acquisitions.
And finally, Case Acquisitions, if the task is sent to a Case.
1) Accessing the scheduled Task report via Assets:
Selecting the ‘eye icon’, under the Actions column as shown above, will give you access to the Details view for the Task, and from here you can access the report associated with this scheduled task acquisition:
2) Below we see the same report being accessed from the Assets menu:
3) And finally the same report from the Case Acquisition page but only if you have sent it here:
Tasks scheduled through the console will execute as planned. However, if an asset is offline at the scheduled time, it will automatically receive and carry out the task upon its next connection.
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