An effective incident response plan is a key element of a cybersecurity strategy, regardless of an organisation’s size. No matter whether your organisation has the best defence system in place, there are still chances of cyber attacks. Therefore, having a robust cyber response plan is crucial to minimise the negative impact of attacks and recover rapidly. Here, in this content, you will get to know about the key elements that should be present in a good incident response checklist.
- Preparation and structure
A good incident response plan starts with thorough preparation. The preparation begins with delegating the rules and duties to team members according to their skills to mitigate the incident’s impact. The team should comprise members from all departments of the organisation, including human resources, public relations, IT, and others so that an incident can be appropriately managed.
Additionally, an organization is required to provide regular training to all team members so that when an incident occurs, they can act swiftly and effectively. The training sessions should include real-life scenarios and use cases to help them work under such pressurized situations.
- Identification of incident
Firstly, it is crucial to identify the attack at its earliest stage to minimize the harm or damage it causes. This means that an organisation should have the right tools in place to identify any unusual activity that could result in a security breach. Early incident detection also helps in taking the proper steps to effectively reduce potential damage.
Therefore, an organization should have a reporting protocol that details how incidents should be reported. Reporting an incident means that all members should be aware of the suspicious activity so that a response plan can be initiated.
- Incident response checklist
Immediately after suspicious or unusual activity is identified, the team’s primary focus should be on developing a response plan to prevent further damage. The focus may involve isolating the unaffected systems, blocking traffic containing malicious viruses or hackers, or getting offline. The strategy is not the same for everyone, and it will vary depending on the severity of the incident.
A good incident response plan should include strategies for various types of incidents, enabling a team to respond quickly and effectively to any incident without needing to develop a new approach. This is not the time to create strategies, but it is the time to respond to those that have already been made.
- Recovery
After stopping further damage, the team members’ focus should now be on recovering from the damage or loss caused by the attack. The process may involve removing malware or implementing more effective security measures to mitigate future risks of attacks.
An organisation should have a well-documented recovery process, including all the steps to restore data and bring systems back online to a safe state. During the recovery phase, communication plays a crucial role, ensuring that everything is done transparently.
Additionally, a post-incident review is crucial to determine what worked well and what did not, allowing the response plan to be implemented effectively in the future.
Conclusion!
As the digital world becomes increasingly popular, the number of cybercrimes is also rising. Therefore, any organization should have a prepared cyber essentials checklist to mitigate the risks. However, if an incident still occurs, the organization should also have a comprehensive incident response plan that incorporates all the key elements listed above.
