Incident Response Plan

An Incident Response Plan (IRP) is a structured methodology that enables organizations to effectively detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity incidents. A well-developed IRP minimizes damage, reduces recovery time and costs, and ensures regulatory compliance. It is a critical part of any organization’s cybersecurity strategy and must be regularly reviewed and updated.

Objectives of an IRP include:

• Identifying and mitigating threats rapidly
• Preventing the escalation of security events
• Restoring normal operations as quickly as possible
• Minimizing data loss and reputational damage
• Documenting incidents to improve future responses

1. Identify & Report

The identification phase involves detecting deviations from normal operations that may indicate a potential security incident. Detection methods include:

• Automated alerts from firewalls, antivirus, IDS/IPS
• Log analysis via SIEM (e.g., Splunk, ELK)
• Threat intelligence platforms
• Employee reports

Clear incident classification and escalation protocols must be in place. Every employee should know how to report suspicious activity via secure channels.

To: incident@yourcompany.com
Subject: [INCIDENT] Suspicious Login Detected

System: Web App Server
Date/Time: 2025-06-15 14:45
Observed Behavior: Repeated failed logins from IP 193.201.23.45
Action Taken: Account temporarily disabled
    

2. Containment Procedures

Containment aims to limit the damage and isolate affected assets. It can be split into:

Short-Term Containment

• Disconnect infected systems from the network
• Block attacker IPs at firewall level
• Isolate email accounts or revoke tokens

Long-Term Containment

• Apply permanent patches
• Reimage compromised hosts
• Enhance monitoring of high-risk systems

3. Root Cause Analysis

This phase investigates how the incident occurred and what vulnerabilities were exploited. Steps include:

1. Log review across all affected systems
2. Network traffic analysis (using tools like Wireshark)
3. Endpoint scans and memory analysis
4. Correlating events with known threat indicators

Use forensic tools such as Volatility, Sysinternals, or Redline to assist in evidence collection and timeline reconstruction.

4. Reporting to Compliance & Auditors

If sensitive data is involved, organizations must follow regulations such as:

• GDPR: Report to authorities within 72 hours
• HIPAA: Notify individuals and regulators if PHI is compromised
• PCI DSS: Engage a QSA and report cardholder breaches

Reports should include:

• Incident description and scope
• Impacted systems and data
• Remediation steps taken
• Plans to prevent recurrence

5. Postmortem Templates

Conduct a blameless postmortem within 72 hours of incident resolution. Include:

• Title and date of incident
• Systems affected and impact summary
• Root cause
• Timeline of events
• Corrective and preventive actions (CAPA)

--- Postmortem Example ---
Title: Unauthorized Access to Customer Database
Date: 2025-06-10
Root Cause: Weak admin password exploited via brute force
Impact: 22,000 records accessed
Timeline:
 - 02:00: Alert triggered by IDS
 - 02:10: Account locked
 - 03:00: VPN logs reviewed, source IP traced
 - 04:00: Password reset and MFA enforced
Action Items:
 - Implement rate limiting on login page
 - Enforce password complexity across systems
    

6. Roles & Responsibilities

• Incident Response Manager: Coordinates the entire response effort and leads the team.
• Security Analyst: Investigates alerts and gathers forensic evidence.
• IT Administrator: Restores services, applies patches, and secures infrastructure.
• Compliance Officer: Ensures proper documentation and legal adherence.
• Communications Lead: Handles internal and external announcements.

7. Incident Reporting Form