Investigation Methodology for SOC Analysts and IR Practitioners in Linux, Cloud, and Container Environments
Practical Incident Response: Linux Systems
The Mission: Follow the Adversary Across the Linux Stack
Every investigation technique in this course follows the same six-step pattern: what to look for, where to find it, how to extract it, how to interpret it, what it proves, and what to do next. From SSH brute force to web shell deployment to container escape to cloud lateral movement, you will learn to trace the adversary through filesystem artifacts, log entries, memory structures, and cloud audit trails — using free and open-source tools at every step.
The Six-Step Investigation Method
Every technique in this course — from parsing an ext4 inode to investigating a container escape — follows the same systematic pattern that working investigators use on real incidents:
1. What to look for — the artifact, the log entry, the behavioral indicator that answers the investigation question.
2. Where to find it — which log file, which directory, which /proc entry, which memory structure. The exact location, not a vague reference.
3. How to extract it — the exact command, copy-paste ready, annotated line by line. Free tool primary, enterprise alternative noted.
4. How to interpret it — what the output means. What is normal. What is suspicious. What the fields contain and why each matters.
5. What it proves — the evidence significance. What this finding demonstrates, what it does not demonstrate, and what assumptions it does not support.
6. What to do next — the next investigation step. Where the evidence chain leads. Which command to run next, which artifact to examine next, which containment action to take.
Who this course is for
SOC analysts expanding into Linux. You triage alerts and investigate incidents in Windows and M365. But your organization runs Linux servers — web servers, jump boxes, CI/CD runners, database hosts. When one is compromised, you need the investigation skills to follow the attacker through filesystem artifacts, log files, and memory.
IR practitioners in mixed environments. You handle incidents across Windows, M365, and Linux. Your Windows forensics is strong. Your Linux investigation is ad hoc — you know some commands but not the systematic methodology. This course provides the structure.
Cloud security analysts. Your environment is cloud-native — EC2 instances, Azure VMs, GKE nodes, containers. The VMs run Linux. The containers run Linux. When a cloud workload is compromised, the investigation starts at the Linux layer. This course teaches you that layer.
Detection engineers building Linux coverage. You write detection rules for Windows and M365. Your Linux detection coverage is a known gap. This course provides the investigation methodology that feeds your detection engineering — every scenario ends with detection rule deployment.
The toolkit — free and open-source first
Every technique is taught with at least one free tool. You are never told "buy this forensic suite to follow along." The core toolkit: UAC (Unix Artifact Collector) for triage collection, Volatility 3 for memory forensics, Sleuth Kit for filesystem analysis, plaso/log2timeline for timeline generation, LiME for memory acquisition, standard Linux commands (journalctl, ausearch, aureport, find, grep, strace, ltrace) for live response and log analysis. Enterprise alternatives noted where relevant: Velociraptor for remote collection, AXIOM Cyber for cross-platform analysis, Elastic SIEM for Linux log aggregation.
Course Syllabus
17 modules across 3 phases. LX0–LX1 are free — no account required.