 cybersecurity incident response preparedness cybersecurity incident response preparedness hemraj tue 10142025 428 cybersecurity incident response preparedness laszlo s gonc submitted by hemraj on mon 10132025 626 laszlo s gonc cissp first senior fellow divihn cybersecurity center of excellence linkedin url linkedin perspectives tag security in the digital dna expert content laszlo sgonc want to show in articles blog webinar sort by featured trending latest cybersecurity incident response preparedness laszlo sgonc security in the digital dna featured trending latest articles blog webinar image awareness is growing that organizations of all sizes lack cybersecurity incident response preparedness companies regardless of size are not exempt from cybersecurity threats being prepared with an established plan of action to immediately execute following a security incident is crucial to limit incident costs and damages to the organization s technical infrastructure operations and reputation the majority of companies 77 of respondents don t have a cybersecurity incident response plan applied across the enterprise according to a 2019 study conducted by the ponemon institute according to this study one of the primary reasons for this is the welldocumented security skills shortage it is particularly severe in incident response because it is a newer discipline for many companies survey respondents said they lack the headcount to create maintain and test their incident response plans only 30 of respondents reported staffing for security is sufficient to achieve a high level of cyber resilience incident response ir framework vs playbook an incident response framework provides a structure to support incident response operations a framework typically provides guidance on what needs to be done but not on how it is done a framework is flexible enough to allow elements to be added or removed as necessary to satisfy a particular organization s needs an incident response plan has a goal delivering effective incident response through a detailed set of steps an incident response plan details the processes needed to deal with cybersecurity incidents calls out the resources required and outlines the communication and escalation paths required for plan operation together the framework suggests logical elements that should be included in a plan a plan includes those elements as well as elements of mission services people process technology and facilities with this in mind it helps to understand two 2 industry incident response frameworks to determine the best approach for your organization the nist incident response framework the national institute of standards and technology nist is responsible for developing information security standards and guidelines including minimum standards for federal information systems the nist computer security incident handling guide includes an incident response framework in the form of an incident response lifecycle the four stages of the nist incident response lifecycle are preparation detection and analysis containment eradication and recovery and postincident activity here s a look at each one in some detail phase 1 preparation the quality of incident response largely depends on incident response preparation in this preparation phase of the lifecycle all the components needed to respond effectively to a computer security incident are identified created or acquired phase 2 detection and analysis while the capability to detect incidents is set up as part of the preparation phase incident detection starts the incident response process incidents cannot be responded to until detection occurs phase 3 containment eradication and recovery containment follows the detection and validation of a security incident the goals of containment are simple stop the problem from getting worse ie limit the damage and regain control of systems and network phase 4 postincident activity postincident activity centers on lessons learned to accomplish two things improve the incident response capability and prevent the incident from recurring the iso incident response framework the international organization for standardization iso is an independent nongovernmental international standards organization the iso standard details how individuals should detect report and assess information security incidents respond to information security incidents report information security vulnerabilities learn from information security incidents and vulnerabilities institute preventive controls and make improvements to the overall approach to information security incident management iso iec 2703512016 outlines the principles underlying information security incident management which is structured into five 5 parts  part 1 planning and preparation establish an information security incident management policy create an incident response team part 2 detection and reporting set up the processes procedures and technology required to detect and report the incident part 3 assessment and decision set up processes and procedures establish incident descriptions and criteria part 4 response to incidents establish controls to prevent respond and recover from incidents part 5 lessons learned learn from security incidents and improve overall computer security incident management comparison nist and iso 270351 are similar in approach to each other however there is an important and subtle difference the nist computer security incident handling guide focuses on incident handling which deals with the prevention detection and responding to incidents iso 270351 focuses on incident management which is integrated broadly into other business management and risk reduction functions outside of the incident response organization summary so which framework should you choose should you choose one framework in its entirety or should you choose part of one and combine it with parts of another framework in a kind of incident response a la carte when considering whether to adopt a framework as is or build your own these are some things to think about are your business operations within the us borders or global are you publicly traded or privately held what are the requirements of your regulatory and compliance landscape are you highly regulated do you have obligations under the federal information systems management act fisma what are your contractual obligations with your business and trading partners there are certainly more questions to be assessed consider an appropriate framework that provides structure to guide the incident response plan building the incident response plan on the framework not the framework itself enables your organization to create the resilience needed to support your business  