An incident response plan sample is a written, documented plan with separate steps that assists IT, professionals and staff, in recognizing and responding to a cybersecurity issue such as a data breach or cyber assault.
However, regular updates and training are important to properly create and manage an incident response strategy.
Below, let us consider how you can start with your incident response plan.
Incident Response Plan Sample: Tips in Writing
The purpose of an incident response plan sample is to provide a foundation for creating a cybersecurity incident response plan.
It will cover the basics of cyber security such as:
Step 1: Purpose and Scope
The first step in developing your incident response plan sample is to determine the purpose and scope of this document. This step is crucial because it may have a big impact on how you proceed with writing your incident response plan sample. You should consider the following questions:
• What is the purpose of the document? Is it to guide your team in responding to a cyber attack? Or, is it to provide a record of the events that occurred during a cyber attack?
• What are you trying to achieve from writing this document? Is it to establish an effective cyber security incident reporting structure within your organization? Or, are you attempting to create an effective strategy that can be used if another cyber attack occurs? In other words, what do you hope this document accomplishes?
Step 2: Identification of Possible Incidents
Once you have determined the purpose and scope of the document, you should determine what potential incidents this document will address. You can achieve this by asking the following questions:
•How will you define an incident?
•What types of incidents can occur in your organization?
•What are the different types of cyberattacks directed at organizations today?
•How often do these incidents occur in your industry?
Step 3: Incident Response Team
The third step in writing your incident response plan sample is to develop an incident response team. When doing so, keep the following considerations in mind:
• Who should be part of the team?
Will it only include IT staff members that are responsible for managing and protecting your network infrastructure and computer systems from cyber attacks and other cybersecurity issues?
Step 4: Incident Response Procedures
After you have determined the purpose and scope of your document and identified the types of incidents your team will address, you should determine how to respond to these incidents. To do so, you can ask the following questions:
•How will the team respond to a cyber attack? What type of response plan will they follow?
•What will be the first steps the team members take when responding to an incident?
•What type of actions should be taken if a potential incident occurs?
•Will the team immediately take action if a potential incident occurs or will they investigate further before taking action? If so, what type of measures should they take to investigate the incident further?
•Will there be a need for special preparations before a cyberattack occurs? If so, what types of preparations should be considered and why?
•How will the team respond if a potential incident occurs outside of regular business hours or on a weekend or holiday?
Step 5: Incident Response Communication Procedures
• Who should be notified if a potential incident occurs? What type of information should they receive and how should it be delivered?
• How will you notify the team members that a potential incident has happened?
• How will the team members respond to a notification of a potential incident? Will there be a need for special preparations before responding to the notification? If so, what types of preparations should they make and why?
Step 6: Incident Response Reporting Procedure
• Who will be responsible for documenting the events that occur during an incident response process? What type of information will they record and what format should the document follow?
• How will you record information about a potential incident? Will there be a need for special preparations before recording information about a potential incident? If so, what types of preparations should be made and why?
• How often should you update your plan sample to account for changes in technology and security issues within your organization’s network infrastructure and computer systems?
Step 7: Document Review, Approval, and Implementation
In the seventh step in writing your incident response plan sample, you should take time to review, approve, and implement your document.
