What role does incident handling play when a cyber attack occurs?

Cyber incidents present a unique challenge for organisations. The rapid pace of change in the technology landscape means that organisations must be prepared to respond to attacks that may not have been seen before. Incident handling is a critical part of any organisation’s cybersecurity strategy. By having a plan in place, organisations can ensure that they are able to respond quickly and effectively to any cyber incident.

What is incident handling?

Incident handling is the process of detecting, responding to, and recovering from a cybersecurity incident. A cybersecurity incident is an occurrence that compromises the security of an information system or its data.

The goal of incident handling is to minimize the damage caused by the incident and to restore the system to its pre-incident state. Incident handling includes four steps:

1. Preparation

The preparation phase of incident response is the most important. This is when you gather information about the incident and determine the best course of action. You’ll need to identify the affected systems and users, determine the scope of the incident, and collect evidence. You’ll also need to create a plan for responding to the incident and determine who will be responsible for each step.

2. Detection & Analysis

The Detection and Analysis phase of incident response is the process of locating and identifying potential security incidents. During this phase, security teams use various tools and techniques to search for signs of malicious activity. Once an incident is identified, the team begins the Analysis phase to determine the scope and severity of the breach.

3. Containment & Recovery

The Containment & Recovery phase of incident response is where organizations take action to stop the spread of the incident and begin to restore systems and networks to their pre-incident state.

4. Post-Incident Activity

The post-incident activity phase of incident response is the time period following an incident where responders take steps to further secure and stabilize the environment, as well as begin the process of investigating and recovering from the incident. This may include forensic analysis, restoring systems to their pre-incident state, and remediating any damage that was done. It is important to have a plan for this phase in order to ensure that all necessary steps are taken and that the organization does not undo any progress that was made during the initial response.

The importance of having a plan

Incident handling is one of the most important aspects of cybersecurity. Without a plan in place, it can be difficult to determine what steps to take when a cyber attack occurs. In order to ensure that your business is protected, it is important to have a plan for incident response.

An incident response plan (IRP) is a document that outlines the steps that should be taken by an organization in the event of a data security incident. The plan should be tailored to the specific needs of the organization and should include procedures for notifying stakeholders, investigating the incident, and remediating any damage.

Having an IRP will help ensure that the organization is able to respond quickly and effectively to any incident, which can minimize the damage caused and help protect

The benefits of using a third party

Cyber attacks have become more sophisticated and frequent in recent years, costing businesses billions of dollars in damages. Many organizations have turned to third-party incident-handling services to help them mitigate the damage and protect their customers.

Third-party incident-handling services have experience dealing with cyber attacks and can provide your organization with expert advice and support. They can help you assess the damage caused by the attack, develop a plan to protect your customers and data, and execute the plan quickly and effectively.

Third-party incident-handling services also have the resources to respond to large-scale attacks. They have the staff, expertise, and technology to help you quickly recover from an attack and prevent future attacks from happening.

See also

Looking to expand your knowledge of incident response? Check out our online course, MDFIR - Certified DFIR Specialist In this course, you’ll learn about the different aspects of incident response and how to put them into practice.