Incident response plans vs disaster recovery plans are often thought of the same. But actually, they are not. Each plays a different role in cybersecurity, especially in times of incidents.
So in this article, let us discover the difference between an incident response plan vs disaster recovery plan.
What is an Incident Response Plan?
An incident response plan is an organized response to security incidents. It involves detection, analysis, containment, eradication, and recovery. An organization can develop it for itself or by outside cybersecurity experts.
An incident response plan may be developed for both internal and external cybersecurity. And it is an extension of an organization’s disaster recovery plan (DRP).
The Incident response plan documents all the essential steps for handling security incidents within an organization. It contains details on how to identify various security threats, how to detect, how to respond to the incident, how to contain the situation, and finally how to recover from the situation.
The incident response plan also covers information on how to share information regarding threats to other organizations. And it also includes the necessary information on how to recover from any situation arising from a security incident.
Incident Response Plan Vs Disaster Recovery Plan
The main difference between an incident response plan and disaster recovery plan is the duration of time they apply.
An incident response plan is an immediate response plan that kicks into action as soon as the organization becomes aware of the security incident. It does not take into account any possible long-term impacts on the organization. It only focuses on the quick containment and eradication of the security threat, followed by a quick recovery.
Incident response plans can be developed by an organization for itself or by outside cybersecurity experts.
A disaster recovery plan, on the other hand, is concerned with the longer-duration impacts of incidents on an organization. It takes into account preparation for prolonged disruptions to IT services. So it is more like a backup plan for any kind of major incident that may disrupt an organization’s ability to operate normally.
Disaster recovery plans can be developed by an organization for itself or by outside cybersecurity experts.
How Incident Response and Disaster Recovery Plans Help Organizations
Incident response plans and disaster recovery plans help organizations in two ways:
First of all, it helps them to identify and prevent cyber-attacks. Secondly, it helps them to recover from major security incidents or disasters.
An incident response plan helps an organization to identify and prevent security threats by, for example:
Documenting the steps for handling security incidents within an organization. Providing details on how to respond to the security incidents. Also, including information on how to share information regarding threats to other organizations. Providing details on how to recover from any situation arising from a security incident.
Conclusion
Both incident response plans and disaster recovery plans are essential to the cybersecurity of an organization. They provide an organized way of dealing with security incidents and major disasters affecting an organization.
