Have you ever wondered what will happen if you identify a major security incident at your organization? Who do you inform? Who is responsible for handling it? 

What happens if there is a data leak and the media finds out about it? Who is responsible for answering the news reporter? When do you involve law enforcement or regulatory authorities?

A security breach is a very delicate and stressful situation. In real-world situations, when you actually suffer a security incident such as a ransomware attack, which brings the entire business to a halt, it is difficult to think straight. Nevertheless, dealing with such situations requires careful coordination, communication, and a methodical approach, which are difficult to achieve on the fly.

That’s exactly the situation where an Incident Response Plan can save the day for you.

This blog post gives you a comprehensive overview of Incident Response, including its needs, the steps involved, how to create an IRP, and how to execute an incident response.

What Is an Incident Response Plan?

An Incident Response Plan (IRP) is a document created to help an organization respond to cybersecurity incidents. Typically, it consists of a structured and comprehensive set of procedures designed to guide IT staff respond to and recover from security incidents. The main goal of an IRP is to efficiently and effectively manage and mitigate the impact of a wide variety of security incidents, including data breaches, malware infections, data loss, and unauthorized access.

A robust IRP provides a course of action to address all significant security incidents, and when a significant incident does occur, it provides guidance to enable your employees to effectively respond to the incidents and recover back to normal business operations as efficiently as possible. 

Why You Need an Incident Response Plan

Security incidents are not just IT problems, but business problems. The longer a security incident lingers, the greater the damage it can inflict on the organization. So, it’s in the best interest of the organization to address and mitigate the incident as soon as possible.

But the time to figure out how to act isn’t in the heat of battle. To effectively address a security incident, not just from an IT perspective but also from a business perspective, your staff needs to be well prepared and drilled to deal with such incidents. An IRP helps prepare the entire organization to effectively deal with security incidents.

To really appreciate the importance of an IRP, try to recall a recent security breach that made headlines. Did the company conceal the security incident? Did they downplay its severity once the news of the breach became public? Did further investigations reveal severe lapses in security or contradict the company’s earlier statements? These are clear signs of mishandling the security incident, which means that either they didn’t have an incident response plan or didn’t follow the procedure outlined in the plan.

Since a security incident is not solely an IT matter, it can potentially impact the entire business. Hence, the process of dealing with a security incident must align with the organization’s priorities and include all key stakeholders. An IRP takes into account the organization’s operational requirements and strategic goals to minimize disruption, limit data loss, and protect the organization’s interests during and after a security incident.

What are the Incident Response Steps?

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in their Special Publication 800-61, divides incident response into the following four steps:

1. Preparation

As I mentioned earlier, the heat of the battle is no time to spin up an incident response. An organization will be able to effectively deal with security incidents only if its staff has the necessary guidance and training. So an IRP must be in place, it must be communicated with the stakeholders, and regular incident response training should be provided to keep the entire organization agile.

2. Detection And Analysis

The second step in incident response is the identification of the security incident. It includes determining whether an incident occurred, and classifying the incident based on severity and impact as well as various types of incidents.

3. Containment And Eradication

The third step in incident response consists of two phases- containment, which includes halting the effects of an incident, and eradication, which includes eliminating the source of the compromise to prevent recurrence.

4. Post-Incident Recovery

The final step in incident response consists of restoring systems to normal operation. It includes gradually reintegrating systems into operations after thorough testing and verification.

How To Create An Incident Response Plan

Creating an incident response plan includes setting clear guidelines for the three phases- before, during, and after a security incident.

Before A Security Incident

As outlined earlier, preparation is a key step in incident response. Here’s what you need to do before a security incident:

1. Create a formal incident response plan document.

A typical incident response plan:

• Identifies the incident response team (IRT) members and lists their roles and responsibilities.

• Lists the tools, technologies, and resources that must be in place.

• Defines the criteria for classifying incidents based on severity and impact. 

• Lists the critical network, data recovery processes, and a business continuity plan.

• Includes a communication plan for both the internal stakeholders and external entities.

2. Develop a communication plan.

Identify the people and groups who will need to be notified during the incident and designate a dedicated communication channel. This is essential for stakeholder management and ensures that key stakeholders who may not be top of mind are not forgotten as things get hectic.

3. Train your employees

Provide regular training to your incident response team and relevant staff to ensure that they are aware of their roles and responsibilities and are familiar with the incident response procedures. Even small delays can result in huge losses for the organization. So, a well-drilled team that moves quickly and smoothly is critical in incident response.

4. Select an outside technical resource

It may also be a good idea to have some sort of partnership with a third-party vendor that will investigate potential compromises in high-severity incidents. This brings authenticity and transparency to the process, which is important for your stakeholders, especially your customers. 

5. Conduct attack simulation exercises 

Conduct regular attack simulation exercises to test the effectiveness of your incident response plan and train the IRT members. The exercises don’t have to be technical. You can do something called a tabletop exercise, which is a roleplaying simulation where the IRT plays out a scenario. A facilitator provides further information and updates as the simulation progresses.

6. Review this plan quarterly.

Review your IRP every quarter to ensure it is up to date with the latest technological, business process, or risk appetite changes. You can also solicit feedback from IRT members and stakeholders after each incident as well as review the outcome of simulation exercises. Use all such information to refine and improve your incident response plan continuously.

During A Security Incident

During a security incident, you have to assign the following key personnel:

1. Incident Manager (IM)

The incident manager will lead the response and is responsible for delegating tasks, communication flows, and stakeholder management. Typically, the IM also leads the retrospective meeting after the incident.

2. Technical Manager (TM)

The technical manager is the subject matter expert who is responsible for all technical matters, including bringing in other internal or external experts.

3. Communications Manager (CM)

The communication manager is responsible for interacting with the internal and external stakeholders. The CM will talk to news reports and share updates internally and on social media.

After A Security Incident

The following activities should be conducted after a security incident has occurred:

1. Conduct a formal retrospective meeting

The retrospective meeting provides the opportunity to share the incident timeline and analysis conducted by the incident response team. It is also a time for seeking and suggesting areas for improvement. Although a retrospective examines everything, including people, processes, and tools, the goal is not to find faults and blame. Rather, the goal of the retrospective is to find ways to improve security and prevent similar incidents in the future.

2. Update policies and procedures 

Update your policies and procedures based on the outcome of the analysis presented by the IRT and suggestions received during the retrospective meeting.

3. Communicate the findings to your stakeholders 

Transparency plays an important role in building trust and helps build a security-conscious culture.

How To Execute An Incident Response?

Here’s how a typical incident response plays out:

1. Activation of the Incident Response Team

When a user detects or identifies a security incident, they must notify their manager who in turn must notify the Information Security Manager (ISM) within a stipulated time (usually 24 hours). The incident notification should include:

• Description of the incident,

• Date, time, and location of the incident,

• The person who discovered the incident,

• How the incident was discovered,

• Known evidence of the incident, and

• Affected system(s).

The ISM conducts a preliminary investigation to review and confirm the details of the incident. If the incident is confirmed, the IRT is notified immediately.

2. Initial Triage

The IRT collects initial information about the incident, including the nature of the incident, affected systems, and indicators of compromise. The team also assesses and classifies the incident based on its severity, impact, and type to determine the appropriate response level.

If necessary, they isolate the affected systems or networks to prevent the spread of the incident.

3. Incident Investigation

The IRT conducts a detailed forensic analysis to determine the extent of the incident, identify the root cause, and understand the tactics and techniques used by the attackers. The investigation also involves the collection of evidence, including logs, and artifacts related to the incident for further analysis and legal or regulatory purposes.

4. Containment and Mitigation

The IRT takes steps to contain the incident and mitigate further damage. This may involve isolating compromised systems, blocking malicious network traffic, or shutting down affected services, if not done already.

If the incident is a result of vulnerabilities, the IRT may also apply temporary fixes or workarounds to prevent further exploitation of the vulnerabilities.

5. Eradication

The IRT then works to eliminate the root cause of the incident. This may involve a wide variety of technical or non-technical activities, including removing malware, closing vulnerabilities, or applying patches to prevent a recurrence of the incident. It may also involve enhancing or updating security controls to address vulnerabilities identified during the incident response process.

6. Recovery

The affected systems and services are then gradually restored to normal operational levels. Isolated systems are reintegrated into operations after thorough testing and verification, data is restored from backups after verifying the integrity of the restored data.

7. Communication

Communication is a critical component of incident response and should happen throughout the process. This includes providing updates on the incident, sharing information, and coordinating response efforts and involves the IRT, IT staff, and all relevant stakeholders.

Depending on the severity of the incident, it may also be necessary to communicate with external parties, such as customers, vendors, law enforcement, or regulatory authorities. In such cases, the communications have to comply with applicable legal and regulatory reporting requirements. If necessary, legal counsel can be brought in to address the legal and regulatory implications of the incident.

8. Documentation

The IRT has to ensure that the digital evidence, including the incident logs that record all actions taken, communications, findings, and decisions made throughout the incident response process, are properly preserved. This is necessary not just for forensic purposes but also for legal and compliance purposes.

9. Post-Incident Analysis

After the incident, a retrospective meeting is conducted. In this post-incident analysis, not only the security incident but also the incident response process is reviewed. This helps create a comprehensive report that includes details of the incident, response actions, and recommendations for future improvements.

Conclusion

Organizations often lack the skill, experience, or both required for dealing with complex cybersecurity incidents. Even if they are lucky enough to have a dedicated security team, they are likely too busy handling existing tasks to keep up with the latest threats. If security is a major concern for your organization, you should consider partnering with a trusted managed service provider.

With an Incident Response Plan (IRP) and an experienced security partner, you can immensely improve your incident response operations, by bringing control, stability, and organization to what is otherwise a chaotic event.

Does your organization have all the necessary policies, procedures, and tools to safeguard its business operations? Reach out to us today by clicking the button below to learn how we can help improve your organization’s security posture.

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