<!-- Copyright (c) 2026 defconxt. All rights reserved. -->
<!-- Licensed under AGPL-3.0 — see LICENSE file for details. -->
---
name: investigating-iam-compromise
description: >-
  Investigate compromised cloud IAM credentials including access key abuse and privilege escalation.
domain: cybersecurity
subdomain: cloud-forensics
tags:
  - iam
  - credential-compromise
  - forensics
  - cloud-security
version: "1.0"
author: defconxt
license: AGPL-3.0
metadata:
  mitre-attack: ["T1078.004"]
---

# Investigating IAM Compromise

## Overview

Investigate compromised cloud IAM credentials including access key abuse and privilege escalation.

## Prerequisites

| Requirement | Install |
|---|---|
| AWS CLI | IAM access |
| CloudTrail | API logging |
| Python 3.10+ | For agent tooling |

## Key Concepts

IAM compromise investigation traces unauthorized credential usage,
privilege escalation paths, persistence mechanisms, and lateral movement.

## Quick Reference

```bash
aws iam list-access-keys --user-name compromised-user
node agent.js trace --access-key AKIA1234567890
node agent.js escalation --principal arn:aws:iam::123:user/attacker
node agent.js report --investigation IAM-2026-001
```

## Workflow

1. Identify compromised credentials
2. Trace API call history
3. Map privilege escalation
4. Identify persistence
5. Check lateral movement
6. Revoke and rotate
7. Document timeline

## Detection

```yaml
title: Investigating Iam Compromise Detection
id: ffa9665f-c41d-4bc6-b974-ee8aa2dd7174
status: experimental
description: Detects suspicious activity related to investigating iam compromise techniques in cloud forensics context
logsource:
  product: aws
  service: cloudtrail
detection:
  selection:
    eventName: "*Unauthorized*"
  condition: selection
level: high
tags:
  - attack.t1078.004
  - attack.collection
falsepositives:
  - Scheduled compliance scanning by authorized security tools
```

## Verification

- Verify credential tracing
- Confirm escalation mapping
- Validate persistence check
- Check lateral movement
- Verify revocation

## References

- OWASP Testing Guide — https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/
- MITRE ATT&CK — https://attack.mitre.org/
- NIST SP 800-53 — https://csf.tools/reference/nist-sp-800-53/
