Getting Started with a Synapse Demo Instance

by savage | 2024-05-20

This guide shares resources to help you familiarize yourself with Synapse, navigate Optic (the Synapse UI), and perform basic analysis within your Synapse demo instance.

What is Synapse? How can Analysts use it?

Synapse is a versatile central intelligence and analysis system that teams can use to uncover insights at scale. The Vertex Project designed Synapse to help analysts and algorithms answer complex questions requiring the fusion of large data sets from disparate sources that span multiple disciplines. With Synapse, analysts have the power and flexibility to ask and answer any question, even over large and complex data sets.

Check out these videos to see Synapse in action:

Getting Started with your Demo Instance

If this is your first time working with Synapse, we highly recommend that you check out the Getting Started section of the Optic documentation. This will walk you through the different components and tools available within your Synapse demo instance, help you customize your analysis environment, and teach you how to add data, among other things.

Accessing Preloaded Data Sets and Accompanying Exercises

The Synapse demo instances come preloaded with two different data sets, both of which have accompanying exercises that walk users through lifting, filtering, and pivoting among the data.

  • The APT1 Scavenger Hunt is an instructional guide that uses data from the 2013 APT1 Report to introduce users to working with data in Synapse.

  • The KC7 Foundation aims to introduce more people to cybersecurity through the use of games and realistic cybersecurity data. A Storm is Brewing in the Lab is a module written specifically for use with Synapse, and walks participants through a scenario in which they’ll use the platform to investigate an intrusion and track the threat actors.

Using Synapse for a Basic File Investigation

Wondering what it would be like to use Synapse for research and analysis? Use your demo instance to follow along with a short file investigation. This exercise will involve adding data to Synapse, querying Synapse Power-Ups for more information, pivoting through the data, and applying tags to keep track of interesting findings.