What is Incident Response (IR)?

Incident response (IR) is a systematic approach that organizations use to manage and mitigate the impact when security breaches or cyberattacks occur. This involves identifying, managing, and mitigating the impact of security incidents to minimize damage and recover swiftly. 

Incident response is critical as cybercrime is projected to cost companies worldwide an estimated $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015. 

That being said, it’s important not to confuse IR with incident remediation. Learn the difference between incident response vs. incident remediation for a deeper dive into how they differ and why each is a critical component of your cybersecurity strategy. 

What are Security Incidents?

Security incidents refer to unauthorized access, data breaches, malware infections, or disruptions to an organization's information technology systems that threaten data confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Below are five key ways security incidents can significantly impact businesses:

1. Financial Losses: Cyberattacks or data breaches can lead to significant financial losses, including theft of corporate and financial information, disruption of operations, and legal expenses related to repairing affected systems. Additionally, companies may face fines and penalties if regulatory compliance is compromised.
2. Reputational Damage: A security breach can erode customer trust, leading to loss of business, damaged relationships with stakeholders, and long-term brand impact.
3. Legal Consequences: In the event of a security breach, businesses might face legal repercussions if they fail to protect personal data as mandated by laws and regulations. This could result in hefty fines and sanctions. 
4. Operational Disruption: Security incidents often cause substantial operational downtime, reducing productivity and impacting revenue while the organization addresses the breach.
5. Post-Crisis Investments: Following a security incident, businesses frequently need to invest resources to manage the impact and prevent future incidents. These costs may include audit investments, forensic activities, crisis management, public relations support, and financial compensation to affected stakeholders.

These impacts highlight the far-reaching consequences of security incidents, affecting financial stability, reputation, and legal standing.

Examples of Security Incidents

Security incidents can manifest in various forms, each posing a threat to an organization’s systems and sensitive data. Here are some examples of security incidents:

1. Unauthorized Attempt to Access Systems or Data: This occurs when an attacker tries to gain access to devices or data within a network that they shouldn’t have access to, often by phishing employees for credentials or attempting to read files on the network.
2. Privilege Escalation: After gaining an initial foothold, attackers attempt to escalate their privileges within a network, often by exploiting vulnerabilities or using phishing tactics.
3. Web Application Attacks: Attackers target websites or web applications using methods such as SQL injections, cross-site scripting, or other known exploits to gain unauthorized access or compromise data.
4. Malware Infection: Malware, including ransomware, can be installed on devices within the network through malicious email attachments, posing a significant threat to data security.
5. Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks: Attackers attempt to disrupt services or networks, making them inaccessible to legitimate users.
6. Loss or Theft of Devices Storing Sensitive Information: Physical loss or theft of sensitive devices can lead to unauthorized access and potential data breaches.
7. Improper Disclosure of Sensitive Information: Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information threatens data confidentiality, whether intentional or accidental.
8. Data Exfiltration: Unauthorized data transfer from a network to an external location, often by an attacker seeking to access sensitive information.
9. Changes to Database Tables: Unauthorized changes to database tables, especially those manipulated by privileged account users, can indicate a security incident.
10. Failed Login Attempts: Repeated failed login attempts followed by an attempt to escalate privileges can signal a security incident on an endpoint.

These incidents are just a few examples of activities that can threaten the security of an organization's network and data.

How Incident Response Works

Effective incident response involves several critical steps to detect, respond to, and recover from security incidents. 

Let's break down each step in detail:

1. Preparation: This phase involves establishing policies, procedures, and personnel training to ensure an organization is ready to respond to security incidents. It includes creating an incident response team, defining roles and responsibilities, and implementing security measures such as intrusion detection systems and data backups.
2. Identification: This step focuses on recognizing and categorizing security incidents. This may involve using security monitoring tools, intrusion detection systems, and security information and event management (SIEM) solutions to identify unauthorized access, unusual network traffic, or other indicators of a security breach.
3. Containment: Once a security incident is identified, the next step is to contain it to prevent further damage. This may involve isolating affected systems, disabling compromised user accounts, or implementing network segmentation to limit the impact of the incident.
4. Eradication: In this phase, the cause of the security incident is identified and removed from the affected systems. This may involve malware removal, closing security vulnerabilities, or patching systems to prevent future exploitation.
5. Recovery: After the incident is contained and the cause is eradicated, the focus shifts to restoring affected systems and operations to normal. This may include data restoration from backups, system reconfiguration, and re-establishing normal business operations.
6. Lessons Learned: The final phase is a review of the incident and response efforts to identify improvements. Lessons learned from the incident are used to refine incident response procedures, update security controls, and enhance overall security posture.

Each step is crucial in effectively managing security incidents and minimizing their impact on an organization's operations and data security.

What is an Incident Response Plan Template?

An incident response plan template is a customizable framework that outlines the procedures and actions to be taken during a security incident. This template serves as a guide for organizations to develop their own tailored incident response plans. An incident response plan template typically includes the following key components:

• Incident Response Team: Defines the roles and responsibilities of the cross-functional team responsible for managing security incidents, such as the incident commander, forensics lead, communications manager, and recovery coordinator.
• Incident Classification and Prioritization: Establishes a system to categorize security events based on their severity and potential impact, allowing the organization to respond accordingly.
• Notification and Escalation Procedures: Outlines communication protocols for notifying internal teams, management, and external parties during a security incident.
• Containment, Eradication, and Recovery: This section specifies the steps to quickly contain the incident, eliminate the root cause, and securely restore normal business operations.
• Evidence Collection and Forensics: Processes for preserving digital evidence and conducting thorough forensic analysis to support any necessary legal or regulatory actions.
• Lessons Learned and Plan Updates: A process for reviewing the incident response efforts, identifying areas for improvement, and updating the incident response plan accordingly to enhance the organization's preparedness.

A comprehensive incident response plan template ensures that organizations have a consistent, repeatable approach to managing security incidents and minimizing their impact.

What are On-Demand Cyber Incident Response Services?

On-demand cyber incident response services offer immediate access to expert digital forensics and incident response resources, ensuring swift containment and recovery during a breach. These services, including security incident response planning (SIRP), provide organizations with a focused, pragmatic strategy for managing security events. 

GUIDE

10 Questions to Consider When Evaluating an Incident Response Provider

Get questions to ask potential cyber incident response services vendors so you can select the right Incident Response provider for your business

DOWNLOAD NOW

How eSentire Helps with Incident Response

When a cyberattack strikes, speed is critical. eSentire provides industry-leading Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) services with a guaranteed 4-hour remote threat suppression, available 24/7. Our elite incident responders leverage cutting-edge digital forensics technology to contain threats rapidly, anywhere in the world. 

By deploying our proprietary eSentire Agent across your environment, we gain instant visibility, enabling quick threat identification and containment. Whether through an on-demand retainer or emergency response, we ensure minimal disruption and swift recovery.

Additionally, we provide incident response plan development, assessment, tabletop exercises, expert incident responders, and robust reporting capabilities to support organizations in navigating and recovering from security incidents.