Here is an example of an incident response plan to help you start, or review your information security systems in place.
Example of Incident Response Plan
An incident response plan is a documentation of strategies that a company will take in case of an incident like a breach happens. This is very helpful in mitigating risks. Also, it encourages faster business recovery.
1. Preparation
In creating a plan, you should always start with preparation. During this phase, you need to have some key information.
The key information you need is the information of your company. Such as, its data, the business processes, and the people responsible in the incident response plan. Lastly, some scenarios.
2. Plan Objectives
The next phase is about objectives. During this phase, you need to know your company’s objectives.
Questions you should ask are:
- What is the plan’s aim?
- Is it to minimize risks?
- Or is it to make sure that all business processes are functioning properly?
Once you know your company’s objectives, you can proceed to plan for each objective.
3. Planning for Incidents
This phase is all about planning how your organization will react to an incident. You should start by making a list of possible events.
Next, you should assign roles for who will be responsible in the process. And determine the responsibilities and authority of each member.
Lastly, you should know how you can contact each member. Also, know who will make the decision on the actions in plan.
4. Plan for Business Continuity
This is the phase where you look into how your business will resume operations after an incident. The first step is to identify all vital business functions that you must resume as soon as possible.
Perhaps, make a list of all vital business functions that your should resume first as soon as possible. So make sure to prioritize them. After prioritizing, have a timeline for each function’s recovery and have a plan on how to resume each function after being affected by an incident.
5. Plan for Recovery
This is a plan for recovering from an incident. The first step is to identify what data was lost or damaged after an incident. The next step is to evaluate what data can be restored from backups.
The last step is to restore data from all possible sources. It’s also recommended to change passwords if they were compromised during an incident as well as all other security measures that need to be implemented after an incident has passed.
6. Plan for Lessons Learned
This is a document where you record all events, procedures, decisions, and any other information that was learned from an incident response process. This will help your organization improve its security systems to avoid a future occurrence of similar incidents or even better prevent them from happening at all.
Conclusion: Take Incident Response Plan Seriously
The incident response plan is an important document for any organization. It is a plan where you will be able to know what you should do in case of an incident. This plan will enable your organization to recover faster and minimize the risks of losing your company’s valuable data.
Organizations today are vulnerable if they do not have their incident response plans. An incident response plan will help your organization recover faster and minimize the risks of losing your company’s valuable data.
You can start by creating an objective that suits your company’s needs. Then create a list of possible scenarios and possible responses for each scenario. And lastly, create a document where you can record all events, procedures, decisions, and any other information.
