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Cybersecurity professionals are available 24/7 to prevent network security incidents that could compromise their organization's information assets' integrity, confidentiality, and availability.
However, regardless of all measures put into place to reduce security incidents, security incidents still happen occasionally.
Establishing an effective incident response plan detailing how organizations should react in case of security incidents is of great importance in helping recover from attacks or other disturbances to their operations and avoid disruptions to business operations.
What Is An Incident Response Plan?
A set of instructions that can be used to detect and respond to an information security incident. An incident response plan, also known as an incident plan and emergency plan, provides guidelines on how to react to various scenarios.
These include data breaches, DoS/DDoS attacks, firewall breaches or malware outbreaks, insider threats, etc.
Benefits-
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Early incident detection: Incident Response procedures include real-time monitoring, intrusion detection, and other systems that allow organizations to detect incidents in security as soon as possible or before they have caused significant damage.
Early detection allows for swift actions to neutralize and contain threats.
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Rapid response and containment: A predefined incident plan allows organizations to respond quickly and effectively to security incidents.
The Incident Response Team will take immediate action to contain an incident, prevent its escalation, and reduce any potential damage.
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Minimizing downtime: A swift and efficient response to incidents helps minimize the impact of security incidents on business operations.
Reduced downtime allows critical business operations to continue without interruption while preventing financial loss and maintaining customer confidence.
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Reduce the Financial Impact: A timely response to incidents and containment of breaches can reduce the financial impact.
Early damage mitigation can help organizations avoid expensive data loss, theft of intellectual property, and regulatory penalties.
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Protecting Reputation: A process for incident response that is effective can help organizations better manage the fallout of security measures incidents.
Organizations can maintain their reputation by demonstrating transparent communication and structured response.
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Preserving evidence: Incident Response procedures include maintaining the evidence related to an incident.
Forensic investigations must identify the root cause and assist Law Enforcement agencies with potential criminal investigations.
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Legal Compliance and Regulatory Compliance An established incident response procedure helps organizations meet various legal and regulatory obligations.
Some regulations require organizations to implement incident response plans.
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Continuous improvement: Incident Response is a process of learning.
Organizations can improve their security posture, policies, and procedures by analyzing and documenting every incident response.
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Building cyber resilience: An well-practiced incident response process contributes to an organization's overall cybersecurity.
It allows organizations to recover quickly from incidents and improves their ability against future threats.
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Cyber Insurance Support: Most cyber insurance policies demand that organizations have an incident response plan documented.
A robust program can help an organization meet the requirements for cyber insurance coverage.
Types-
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Data Breach An unauthorized access, disclosure, or theft of sensitive information is considered a data breach.
It could be customer data, financial records, or intellectual property.
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Infections by Malware: Malware infections occur when malicious software, such as viruses or worms, infects computers or networks.
These infections may lead to data loss or system disruptions.
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DoS Attack: DoS attacks aim to overwhelm the resources of a system or network, rendering it unusable for users.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), which involves multiple sources, has a greater impact.
- Insider threat: An insider threat is a malicious or negligent action by employees, contractors, or business partners to compromise systems or data.
- Social Engineering and Phishing: In phishing incidents, attackers trick users using deceptive messages, emails, or phone calls.
- Unauthorized access: In this type of incident, unauthorized individuals gain access to systems, data, applications, or other information that they are not authorized to use.
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System Compromise: System compromise incidents indicate that an attacker gains unauthorized access and control of a system.
This is often done by exploiting vulnerabilities.
- Defacement of Websites: website defacement occurs when attackers alter the appearance or content of a site, usually for malicious or political purposes.
- Stolen or Lost Devices: Instances of lost or stolen laptops, smartphones, or other devices may expose data and present security tool risks.
- Physical Breach of Security: Physical breaches can lead to theft or damage to data.
- Third-Party Breach: Incidents originating from third-party vendors or service providers and impacting an organization's data or systems are classified as third-party breaches.
- Cyber Espionage: Cyber espionage incidents involve attempts to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information for espionage or intelligence-gathering purposes.
How To Create A Plan For Incident Response
Every organization experiences security tool incidents. A well-designed incident response plan can help an organization quickly recover from an incident, contain the damage, and minimize the impact.Companies should follow These steps by developing their own plans for incident response.
Step 1. Being Aware of the Value of an Incident Response Plan
Cyber threats have become more complex and frequent, necessitating a proactive cybersecurity approach. An IT incident response plan is an insurance policy protecting you and your company against worst-case scenarios.
Your team can respond swiftly and effectively during incidents reducing downtime, damage mitigation costs, and data breaches while showing commitment to data security services, building customer trust, and protecting reputations.
Update or create an incident remediation policy. This document is the foundation of all incident handling, giving responders authority to make important decisions.
Senior executives should approve this document outlining key priorities for incident response.An authoritative senior leader should be appointed as the primary person charged with responding to incidents. They may delegate some or all of their authority to other team members involved; however, the policy should clearly state who has primary responsibility.
Keep the language of a policy high-level and general. A policy should act as a guideline for incident response rather than going into depth; more specific details can be filled out through procedures and playbooks.
Achieving long-term policies is key.
Step 2. Assembling an Incident Response Team
Without an effective Incident Response Team (IRT), your IT Incident Plan would not be complete.
An IRT should include professionals from IT Security, Legal, Communications, and Management departments; their structure should also be laid out so all members understand their roles, responsibilities, and authorities in an incident.
One person should oversee all aspects of incident response and lead a team of experts to carry out all tasks necessary to handle an incident effectively.
The size and composition of an organization's security incident Response Team depend on the nature and frequency of incidents within its jurisdiction; large global companies might employ dedicated incident Response Teams dedicated to specific geographical regions, while smaller firms might use centralized units that pull members from various departments as needed on a part-time basis; some even opt to outsource all or some aspects of incident response altogether.Regardless of the team model you select, always train team members on their roles at each step in handling an incident. Conduct regular exercises so they are fully prepared for future crises.
Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) must maintain an incident response plan.
Members of a CSIRT should become acquainted with it and ensure it is tested regularly and approved by management. Response Teams should include technical staff with application and platform expertise, infrastructure/networking experts, and systems administrators.
The management team must also include an incident coordinator, someone skilled at selecting team members from various backgrounds and with multiple agendas who share common goals.
Someone responsible for communicating with and to management must also be appointed to this role - it's vital that this person can translate technical issues into business language or vice versa.The CSIRT should include data owners and business process managers throughout an organization. They will collaborate closely with them and help create the incident response plan. Sales/customer service representatives and any customer-facing business units such as sales should also participate.
Depending on the regulatory compliance obligations of their company, Legal Teams or PR departments may also need to participate.
Step 3. Incident Detection And Reporting
Implement real-time surveillance and intrusion detection to detect potential incidents immediately. Set up clear reporting channels to ensure all employees know how and when to report suspicious activity.
It is important to report incidents quickly to contain the incident and respond swiftly.
A mature incident Response Team is reliant on playbooks. Although every security incident is different, it's a fact that most incidents follow a standard pattern of activity.
Standardized responses would be beneficial. When an employee's mobile phone is stolen, for example, an organization might follow these standard procedures:
- Send a remote wipe to the device.
- Verify that the device is encrypted.
- Report the stolen device to Law Enforcement as well as your service provider.
- Give the employee a new device.
This sequence of actions forms a basic template for responding when a device is lost or stolen -- a playbook to handle device theft.
This playbook will allow the incident Response Team to refer to it whenever an item is stolen or lost.
When organizations build out their incident Response Team, they should create a series of playbooks covering their most common types of incidents.
Read More: Constructing a Comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan
Step 4. Collaboration with External Entities
Your IRP must include provisions to collaborate with external entities such as Law Enforcement, incident response services providers, and regulatory authorities.
Coordination with these entities will strengthen your response capability and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Communication is vital to successful incident response efforts. This applies both between groups within an organization as well as external stakeholders.
A communications plan for an incident response should outline how various groups within an organization work together and which information needs to be shared between internal and external responders.
Communication plans must also address Law Enforcement. Organizations should clearly state who has authorization from their organization to contact Law Enforcement and when it is appropriate.
Engaging Law Enforcement could result in unwanted attention; organizations must, therefore, carefully consider this decision.
Step 5. Identifying Critical Assets And Vulnerabilities
It's important to perform a thorough risk assessment before creating an IRP. Identify the most important assets of your organization, including sensitive data, intellectual properties, and critical infrastructure.
Understanding vulnerabilities and threats will help you prioritize resources and define the incident categories.
It is crucial to test the processes described in incident response planning. Do not wait for an incident before trying the plan.
Simulations are a great way to ensure teams understand the strategy and their roles in response processes. Tests should cover a range of threats, such as ransomware attacks, DDoS, insider data theft, and misconfigured systems.
Discussion-based tabletop tests are a common penetration testing method. Teams discuss the issues and procedures that could arise during a security event.
Hands-on exercises are a more thorough testing method. They test the functional processes and procedures of an incident response plan.
Step 6. Determining Incident Categories And Severity Levels
Create a system of categorization for incidents with severity levels. The IRT can then quickly determine the impact and nature of the incident to trigger the appropriate response.
Data breaches, malware infections, and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks are all common incident categories.
Every incident is an opportunity to learn. A formal lesson-learned session should follow every major security control incident.
All team members involved in the incident should attend these sessions. They should identify any physical security standards gaps that may have contributed to the incident and where the incident response plans should be modified.
It allows an organization to improve its response to incidents and reduce the chances of them happening again.
Step 7.Creating Incident Response Procedures
Develop detailed response procedures for each severity level and incident category. These procedures should detail the steps to be taken in an incident.
Include containment strategies and evidence preservation. Also, consider communication protocols, escalation pathways, and ways to restore systems once the incident has been resolved.
After creating the plan, testing should be done regularly and as threats and processes change. At a minimum, incident response plans should be reviewed and validated at least once a year.
The goals should be updated whenever a company's IT infrastructure, business structure, or regulatory requirements change.
Step 8. Testing and Training
Train your Incident Response Team regularly to improve their skills and familiarity. Test the effectiveness of your plan by conducting tabletop exercises or simulating incident scenarios.
These drills can provide valuable insight into areas where improvements may be needed and refine response strategies.
What To Include In A Response Plan
It can be overwhelming to create an incident response plan. Develop your incident response plan into smaller, more manageable procedures.
There are some items that all organizations should include in their incident management plans. These include:
- Emergency contact/communications list
- List of system backup and recovery processes
- Forensic Analysis List
- Jump Bag list
- List of security practices policy reviews
Emergency contact/communications list
Proper communication is critical to successfully managing a data breach, so you must document a thorough Emergency contact/communications list.
This list should include who to call, how to reach them, when is the right time to reach out, and what to say.
This list should include all the people who need to be contacted if there is a breach of data, including:
- Response Team
- Executive Team
- Legal Team
- Forensics company
- Public Relations
- Affected Individuals
- Law Enforcement
- Merchant processor
Decide when and how you will notify cardholders. In many states, there are mandated timeframes that an organization must abide by when notifying cardholders and Law Enforcement of incidents, so be familiar with your local laws when notifying cardholders and Law Enforcement of incidents.
Also, include instructions in your incident plan on how to make mandatory notifications.
Your incident Response Team must write statements for different audiences, such as press releases, customer statements, internal/employee messages, and holding announcements.
Ready-made emails and talking points may also come in handy following data breaches.
Determine who will be accountable for notification within your company (perhaps an in-house legal counsel or a newly hired breach management firm).
They are responsible for sending timely messages that meet all state requirements; you will be judged heavily based on how quickly and professionally they react when faced with data breach incidents.
List of system backup and recovery processes
Listing your system backup and recovery procedures will help you deal with a data breach's technical side. These are some of the things you should include:
- How to disconnect from the Internet? (e.g., who decides whether you disconnect or not)
- Diagrams of system configuration that include device descriptions, IP addresses, and OS information
- Switching to redundant systems while preserving evidence
- Evidence preservation process (e.g., logs, timestamps).
- Test the system backup and recovery by performing full system backups
- Test and verify any compromised systems to ensure they are fully functional
This list will help you to preserve any compromised data and quickly deal with a data breach. It also enables you to protect your systems by backing them up.
This list can help your organization to reduce further data loss and return to normal operations quickly.
Forensics Analysis Listen
The list of forensic analyses is intended for technical skills organizations that use their forensic investigation resources.
Your forensics team will need to be able to identify irregular behaviors and access system security logs and event logs. You may need to create multiple lists depending on your computer's operating system and functionality (e.g., server, database).
You may require the following tools for your forensic team:
- Data acquisition tools
- Write-blockers
- Clean/wiped USB hard drives
- Cabling all the connections that they may experience in your environment
- Other forensic analysis software (e.g., EnCase FTK, XWays, etc.)
You may hire a Forensics company if your organization does not have an in-house computer forensic examiner. You will need to vet them in advance and complete pre-completed contracts.
This process ensures that you have a forensic investigator on hand when needed.
Jump Bag list
Jump Bag lists are for quick responses (i.e. when you react quickly to a breach). This list should contain the overall response and actions that employees must take immediately following a breach.
This list will help you keep your plan in order and avoid mistakes caused by panic.
Include the following items in your list:
- Journal of the incident handler to document the event (e.g., who, what, and where)
- Contact list for the Incident Response Team
- USB Hard Drives and Write-Blockers
- USB Multi-hub
- Flashlights, pens, notebooks
- Your complete list of documents
- Bootable OS versions on USB or DVD
- Computer and Network Tool Kit
- Hard duplicators with Write-block capability
- If using internal forensic investigation resources, forensic tools, and software are required.
Security Policy Review List
The security policies you review will include your response and the breach's aftermath. This list will help you analyze the violation and determine what you should learn or change.
Documentation of the following items should be included in your security policy review list:
- Who detected the breach, and by what method?
- The affected systems and their scope
- Data put at risk
- How the violation has been contained and eradicated
- During recovery, work is performed, or procedures are modified.
- The areas where the plan is effective
- Areas for improvement (e.g., which security issues controls failed, improvements in security awareness programs).
It is important to identify where you failed in your security analyst measures and what you can do to improve. This list documents the entire incident: what happened, what worked, and what didn't.
A plan for incident response is only effective if employees follow it. Regularly test the staff's reactions by using tabletop exercises or real-life simulations.
Tabletop exercises are a great way for employees to practice their roles in incident response when there is no danger. This can help uncover any gaps you may have in your plan.
Conclusion
Organizations face continuous threats to their IT infrastructure and data in today's increasingly digital and interconnected world, so having an effective cybersecurity plan, including an IT Incident Response Plan, is vital to protecting yourself against damage and downtime and protecting your organization's reputation.
An Incident Response Team can be assembled to identify critical assets, define quick response procedures in security professionals events, and regularly test their plan.
