Here are ways on how you can improve the company alert triage process.
When a breach occurs, the first step to containment is triage. Triage is the process of sorting through information and prioritizing actions. Whether you have an established process in place or are considering creating one, here are some best practices:
Best Practices on Improving Alert Triage Process
Here are tips on how you can improve your alert triage process:
1. Establish a consistent triage process for alerts
Your team should be consistent in how they handle cybersecurity alerts. They should follow a similar process for each alert. Set up processes for what to do for specific types of alerts, such as how to respond to phishing attacks and how to address vulnerabilities. Your team will get even more consistent and effective with practice.
2. Train your team on the correct way of triaging alerts
When an alert comes in at midnight, your team must know what they’re looking at. That’s why you should train them on the best ways to handle specific types of alerts, such as phishing attacks and vulnerabilities.
3. Have the right tools
Make sure you have the right tools to handle alerts effectively and get an alert management platform that can help you stay on top of your alerts. The most effective tools provide a way to tag and prioritize alerts, so you know what to look at first.
4. Know how to handle alerts
Another important part of your alert triage process is deciding how to handle alerts that don’t meet a specific need or threat.
If you’re not going to do anything about them, do you want to add them to your action items so it doesn’t happen again in the future? Is there a more appropriate person who should be handling the alerts? Should you shut off that monitoring?
Alert triage is all about prioritizing actions and reducing noise. Make sure you have processes in place that make sense and include time for self-reflection. Get in the habit of periodically reviewing your alert triage process to make sure it’s working effectively.
5. Have a consistent response
Finally, make sure everyone knows what to do when an alert comes in. Make sure you have a document that outlines the steps to take and the contact information for the right people to get in touch with. It’s an excellent practice to make sure you’re documenting your alert triage process as well.
6. Have a follow-up process
Once the alert has been triaged, you need to have a follow-up process. Many things could be done with an alert, such as:
Alerts should be triaged on time. If it takes too long, people may start ignoring them, which can lead to more problems down the road.
Having a consistent and established process helps ensure that everyone on your team knows how to handle alerts for different types of attacks and vulnerabilities. This also gives your team confidence that when they see an alert, there will be someone who will help them determine what needs to be done and how to do it.
