Incident response plans: Understanding the essential teams and tools

Incident response teams

An incident response team (IRT) is the core group responsible for managing and responding to security incidents. It includes professionals with expertise in cybersecurity, forensics, legal and regulatory compliance, and communication.

In addition to the cybersecurity experts, there are therefore usually at least three more teams that make up the IRT as a whole:

• Executive management team, that is, the senior leaders who make critical decisions during a security incident, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives.
• Legal team, which will address legal implications for the organisation of the incident, determine the compliance issues, and guide the organisation on handling legal aspects of an incident.
• Communications team, which will manage both internal and external communications to maintain transparency and mitigate reputational damage.

Incident response tools

• Security information and event management (SIEM) tools collect, analyse, and correlate log data from various sources to identify and respond to security incidents.
• Forensic tools aid in collecting, preserving, and analysing digital evidence to understand the scope and impact of an incident.
• Endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions monitor and respond to suspicious activities on endpoints, helping detect and contain threats.
• Firewalls and intrusion detection systems (IDS) monitor network traffic, detect anomalies, and block malicious activities to prevent incidents.
• Threat intelligence platforms provide insights into current threats, allowing organisations to proactively defend against potential attacks.
• Communication and collaboration tools – think platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams – which facilitate real-time communication and coordination among incident response teams.
• Patch management tools ensure that systems are updated with the latest security patches to prevent vulnerabilities.
• Backup and recovery tools are essential for restoring systems and data in the event of a ransomware attack or data loss.
• Playbooks and automation tools, including documented response procedures, help streamline incident response, ensuring a consistent and efficient approach.

Incident response lifecycle

• Preparation: Establishing an incident response plan, defining roles, and selecting appropriate tools.
• Identification: Detecting and confirming a security incident.
• Containment: Isolating affected systems to prevent further damage.
• Eradication: Removing the root cause of the incident from the environment.
• Recovery: Restoring systems and data to normal operations.
• Lessons learned: Evaluating the incident response process to improve future responses.

A well-designed incident response plan involves a multi-disciplinary team equipped with specialised tools. This comprehensive approach enables organisations to effectively navigate and recover from cybersecurity incidents, ultimately bolstering their resilience to evolving threats.