By now, we’re all informed on what a cybersecurity incident is. But, for those who are new to this specific branch of industry, we’re going to gloss over what it is.
Well, a cybersecurity incident or breach is an encroachment of a company’s information system or its cyber assets.
So What Is an Incident Response Plan?
An incident response plan, or IRP for short, is a document that consists of all procedures one company requires to pull off in the event of a cybersecurity breach. It usually outlines all of the roles, responsibilities, steps of escalation, and processes that are intended to limit a cybersecurity incident in its scope and damage. This gives cybersecurity and IT professionals the tools and instructions on how to respond to an incident.
These incidents frequently and heavily impact one’s finances, productivity, reputation, or business.
A good IRP is modeled on the companies’ assessment of risk, the recovery process, and security operation. It is distributed to the personnel who are responsible for conducting activities that are defined by the firm’s IRP.
Why Is an IRP important?
The importance of an IRP can be absorbed through the old saying: “If you fail to plan, then plan to fail.” These words ring true in today’s world.
Any serious business should be aware that they’ll, at some point in time, be the victim of a cybersecurity breach, be that a ransomware attack or something else. If said business knows this and still does not take the required measures to hinder a hacker’s malign intentions, then that business is just being reckless.
With that out of the way, let’s answer your question.
So, Why Is an IRP Important?
Here are just some of the reasons you should take this theme way more seriously:
- It helps identify the breach correctly.
- It can contain the attack, control the damage and maybe thwart cyber bandits in their criminal attempts.
- Also, it protects customer data and sensitive information.
- It can patch the vulnerabilities of your business’s system which made the attack available to start with.
- It, also, helps you and your company recover from the attack with minimal damage and negative implications.
- It can help you assess and implement the lessons to be learned from an attack.
What Does an IRP Include?
So, we’ve nailed down what an IRP is and how it helps us but…what does this plan, this document include? What should it include? Should you go simple or layered? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with that too!
An IRP has to outline key steps your business should take in the event of a breach. Your plan should be comprised of the following:
- Exact procedures for restoring data and systems.
- Contact info on your key personnel (IT and cybersecurity specialists should be a top priority with this one!)
- Steps that will guide you on how to contain said attack and keep it from spreading further.
- A description of your firm’s IRP team and their respective duties, roles, and tasks at hand.
It should, also, look professional. Get your grammar and syntax on point! This is no place for making mistakes because if you make them while creating your IRP, that’s going to catch up with you at the worst time possible – during the attack or, to be specific, while you’re trying to mitigate all that data leakage, systems failure, and reputational damage. Nobody wants that.
Should You Test Your IRP?
That’s a yes, with a capital Y. If it’s easier, imagine it like a firefighter. Why are they so good at what they do? Because they constantly drill their response plans for their problems and challenges. This can be educational, no matter which branch of industry your company belongs to.
If you test your IRP on a regular basis, that will help you build muscle memory which will greatly enhance your response during the breach, while at the same time, building your response team’s efficiency and accuracy.
So, your team should be made up of, as said above, IT and cybersecurity specialists, but also board members and executives. A plan will be as strong as your team is, so pick wisely.
You can hire a professional to train your response team, which most helpdesk services provide.
This involves a simulated attack on your company’s system by said professional. This gives you the opportunity to see your team in action and how well or badly they respond. While doing this, you get your team together and respond to the fake attack. You should base your response, of course, on your own IRP. Don’t worry, not all of us get it the first time.
This way, participants from your response team can actually see firsthand the importance of their own roles in this team and plan. Your staff will better understand what they have to do when push comes to shove. Which can make all the difference when the “alarm” sounds and panic ensues.
Also, this way you can test your own IRP for gaps in the defense plan. The goal is to make every important piece of the puzzle aware of its own roles and practice them in real-time.
Conclusion
Data breaches can be a frightening and costly event, but if you put in the elbow grease while creating an airtight cybersecurity IRP before any attack happens, you will be better prepared to handle the incident and the damage will be greatly reduced.
So, as we said before, every serious business has an IRP and that’s why they operate successfully. After you finish it, it should have the following traits:
- A well-documented process that your company should follow in the event of an incident.
- It outlines the exact steps your team takes to protect your interests and, by extension, the interests of your customers.
- It is brief, to the point, with no fillers, and easy to understand.
In the 21st century, it is more important than ever to have a solid CSIRP (cybersecurity incident response plan) ready to go at a moment’s notice. The attack can have a heavy impact on credibility, productiveness, and reputation which all costs time, customers, and money.
Heck, if a company of a smaller caliber is hit, a single attack can downright shut it down for good. Nobody wants that. So, with these basic steps, you can get started on planning an IRP today. As we said before, it’s better to be safe than sorry.