A cybersecurity analyst has identified an ongoing attack on a virtualized server environment. While the analyst has implemented network segmentation, they must now decide the most effective isolation step to preserve evidence and maintain operations. The environment includes a mix of live client services and development systems. Which of the following actions should the analyst take FIRST?
Suspend the affected virtual machines, preserving their operation states
Reconfigure the virtual network interfaces to an isolated VLAN
Update firewall rules to restrict traffic to and from the virtual machines' current IP addresses
Immediately perform forensic imaging of the affected virtual machines
Suspending the affected virtual machines will allow the analyst to stop the current state of the systems, effectively isolating them while keeping all data in their current state. Since this action does not turn off the VMs, the analyst preserves potentially volatile data that could be lost during a shutdown, which is crucial for a thorough forensic investigation. Adjusting firewall rules or VLAN settings would not isolate the VM as effectively or preserve the immediate state for forensics. Forensic imaging is important but it is not a method of isolation and would not stop the spread of the incident.
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Why is suspending a virtual machine the best first step for isolation in this scenario?
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What is the difference between suspending and shutting down a virtual machine?
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What kind of data is preserved by suspending a virtual machine, and why is it important?