Incident Response Planning
IR plan development, team structure, communication, and continuous improvement.
Overview
An IR plan ensures organized response to security incidents.
IR Team Structure
π§
Technical Lead
Analysts, Engineers
Investigation & Remediation
π’
Communications Lead
PR/Legal, Management
Internal/External Messaging
βοΈ
Legal Lead
HR, Audit
Compliance & Reporting
IR Plan Template
# Incident Response Plan
## 1. Purpose
Establish procedures for responding to security incidents.
## 2. Scope
Applies to all systems and data.
## 3. Roles & Responsibilities
- IR Coordinator: Overall coordination
- Technical Lead: Investigation and remediation
- Communications: Internal/external messaging
## 4. Incident Categories
- Category 1: Data breach
- Category 2: System compromise
- Category 3: Malware infection
- Category 4: Policy violation
## 5. Response Procedures
### Detection
- Monitor alerts
- User reports
- Automated detection
### Analysis
- Confirm incident
- Determine scope
- Classify severity
### Containment
- Isolate systems
- Preserve evidence
- Block attacks
### Eradication
- Remove threat
- Patch vulnerabilities
- Reset credentials
### Recovery
- Restore systems
- Verify integrity
- Monitor for recurrence
### Post-Incident
- Document lessons
- Update procedures
- Improve defenses
Communication Templates
# Internal Notification
Subject: Security Incident Detected - [Severity]
Team,
A security incident has been detected. Please follow these steps:
1. Do not discuss externally
2. Preserve all logs
3. Await further instructions
# External Notification (if required)
Subject: Security Update
Dear [Stakeholder],
We are writing to inform you of a security incident that occurred on [date].
We have taken immediate action to contain the incident.
Exercise Types
| Type | Purpose | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Tabletop | Discussion-based | Quarterly |
| Functional | Test procedures | Semi-annually |
| Full-scale | Complete simulation | Annually |
Metrics
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Mean time to detect | < 1 hour |
| Mean time to respond | < 4 hours |
| Mean time to contain | < 24 hours |
| Post-incident review | Within 72 hours |
Practice
Develop an incident response plan for a small organization.