An AWS user notices unusual activity in their EC2 instances, including unexpected outbound traffic.

This scenario reflects a suspected cloud workload compromise. The ECIH Cloud Incident Handling module stresses that responders must balance containment, evidence preservation, and service continuity.

Option D is correct because creating snapshots preserves forensic evidence while isolating instances using network ACLs or security groups immediately halts malicious communication. This approach aligns with ECIH guidance to preserve evidence before destructive actions while still containing the threat.

Option B destroys evidence and hinders investigation. Option C alters system state and may trigger attacker countermeasures. Option A delays containment.

ECIH explicitly warns against terminating or rebooting compromised cloud assets before evidence capture. Snapshot-and-isolate is therefore the most effective immediate containment step.