SIEM Incident Response: Detecting Credential Access and System Dumps — PickAClass
⏱ 2h 56m 📚 29 lessons 🎧 Audio version

SIEM Incident Response: Detecting Credential Access and System Dumps

Learn how to analyze security logs in a SIEM to detect credential dumping, system anomalies, and unauthorized access attempts during a security incident.

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About this course

When a security incident occurs, speed and accuracy in analyzing log data can mean the difference between containment and a catastrophic breach. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems are the core tool for modern security analysts to trace unauthorized actions. This text-based course guides you through the process of investigating credential access attempts, system dumps, and anomalous behavior using a SIEM. You will gain the foundational knowledge to read event logs, identify common attack patterns, and reconstruct security incidents. What you'll learn: - Understand the core architecture and query languages used in modern SIEM systems. - Identify common credential dumping techniques, such as LSASS memory dumps and registry harvesting. - Analyze security event logs to trace unauthorized user activity and privilege escalation. - Detect lateral movement patterns and anomalous system behaviors within a network. - Apply modern threat-hunting methodologies to isolate compromised accounts. - Document and report incident findings to support remediation efforts. Starting with foundational security concepts and log terminology, you will progress through realistic incident scenarios, learning how to write search queries and correlate events to reconstruct the timeline of an attack. This course is designed for aspiring security analysts, IT administrators, and cybersecurity beginners who want to build practical incident response skills without needing prior SIEM experience. Begin your journey into security analysis and learn how to hunt down threats in log data today.

Course contents

7 modules · 29 lessons · 2h 56m

1 Foundations of SIEM and Logs
Understand how SIEMs work and the language of security logs.
4 lessons · 24 min
  1. SIEM Architecture 101
    You will learn how data flows from a source to a SIEM dashboard.
    6 min
  2. Security Concepts for Analysts
    You will explore the CIA triad and how it applies to incident response.
    5 min
  3. The Language of Logs
    You will master common log terminology like Event IDs, timestamps, and sources.
    7 min
  4. Windows vs. Linux Logs
    You will identify the key differences between the major log sources you'll encounter.
    6 min
2 Mastering the Query
Learn how to search through millions of logs efficiently.
4 lessons · 24 min
  1. Intro to Query Languages
    You will understand the structure of common SIEM query languages like KQL or SPL.
    6 min
  2. Writing Your First Search
    You will learn how to use keywords and fields to find specific events.
    7 min
  3. Filtering and Sorting Data
    You will use logical operators to narrow down your search results.
    6 min
  4. Visualizing Results
    You will turn raw query data into simple charts to spot spikes in activity.
    5 min
3 Detecting Credential Access
Identify how attackers steal passwords and hashes.
4 lessons · 26 min
  1. LSASS Memory Dumps
    You will learn to detect when an attacker tries to dump credentials from memory.
    7 min
  2. Registry Harvesting
    You will identify unauthorized access to SAM and SYSTEM registry hives.
    6 min
  3. Brute Force vs. Password Spraying
    You will distinguish between different automated login attack patterns in logs.
    6 min
  4. Mimikatz Artifacts
    You will look for the specific footprints left by common credential theft tools.
    7 min
4 User Activity and Privilege Escalation
Trace what a user did and how they gained more power.
5 lessons · 30 min
  1. Analyzing Security Event Logs
    You will dive deep into Windows Security Log structure for deep analysis.
    6 min
  2. Tracing Unauthorized Logins
    You will find logins coming from unusual locations or at odd hours.
    6 min
  3. Spotting Privilege Escalation
    You will detect when a standard user suddenly gains administrative rights.
    7 min
  4. Sensitive Group Monitoring
    You will track changes to high-value groups like Domain Admins.
    5 min
  5. Process Execution Tracking
    You will use Event ID 4688 to see exactly what programs an attacker ran.
    6 min
5 Lateral Movement and Anomalies
Find attackers moving through your network.
4 lessons · 24 min
  1. Lateral Movement Patterns
    You will identify attackers jumping between workstations using RDP or SMB.
    7 min
  2. Anomalous System Behaviors
    You will find 'living off the land' techniques where attackers use built-in tools.
    6 min
  3. Unusual Network Connections
    You will detect internal scanning and connections to unknown external IPs.
    6 min
  4. Baselines and Outliers
    You will learn how to define 'normal' to make 'weird' stand out.
    5 min
6 Threat Hunting and Containment
Proactively find and stop active threats.
4 lessons · 22 min
  1. Threat Hunting Methodologies
    You will learn the difference between reactive alerting and proactive hunting.
    6 min
  2. Hunting with IoCs
    You will search your environment for known bad file hashes and IP addresses.
    6 min
  3. Isolating Compromised Accounts
    You will learn the steps to safely disable an account without losing evidence.
    5 min
  4. Immediate Containment Actions
    You will explore how to stop an attack in progress using SIEM-triggered actions.
    5 min
7 Reconstruction and Reporting
Tell the story of the attack and how to fix it.
4 lessons · 26 min
  1. Correlating Disparate Events
    You will connect a login event to a process start and a network connection.
    7 min
  2. Reconstructing the Attack Timeline
    You will build a step-by-step narrative of the security incident.
    7 min
  3. Documenting Incident Findings
    You will learn what evidence is critical to keep for a professional case file.
    6 min
  4. Reporting for Remediation
    You will write recommendations to ensure the same attack doesn't happen again.
    6 min
Final project

The 'Shadow Access' Incident Reconstruction

You are provided with a 24-hour log dump from a simulated company. You must identify the initial entry point, find the credential dump, trace the lateral movement, and produce a final incident report.

What you'll get

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  • ⚡ Short & focused
    2h 56m of practical content

Certificate of completion

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Performance detail
Coursework summary
Lessons completed 14 / 14
Practice questions 26 / 28
Assignments submitted 4 (avg 4.5 / 5)
Capstone project Reviewed — 4.6 / 5
Total practice 6.2 hrs
Performance benchmark
Cohort rank Top 12% of 1,625
Time to completion 11 days (median: 22)
Mastery score 91 / 100
Practice-question score 94%
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Issued under the academic standards of PickAClass. Skill levels reflect assessed performance against the course's competency rubric. This is an original credential of this platform.

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