Psychology and the hacker - Psychological Incident Handling

The understanding of the processes, techniques and skills of hackers or cyber-criminals can be ascertained through the practical application of forensic psychology techniques and behavioral analysis. The actions and methods used within an attack, through the monitoring of logs and forensic discovery, will contribute to a profile of the person/persons behind the intrusion. This information will be a new vector in determining infiltration techniques, if the actions leave a persistent threat (backdoor) or if it is a one-time smash and grab. If applied correctly, the detective controls can shorten avenues of determining risk and threats, as well as the magnitude of investigation required based upon the behavioral profile. Incident handling is based on the detection, response and resolution of security incidents. Given a new understanding of the person/persons behind such an incident, the process will be a preliminary part of the incident handling process. Using the methods of behavioral analysis, it creates a new dimension of understanding to the malicious activity and network analysis of what occurred in the environment.