Cybersecurity Crisis Management Explained
In the rapidly evolving landscape of cybersecurity, incident response plays a pivotal role in containing threats, minimizing damage, and restoring affected systems to normal operation. This article outlines the key best practices for incident response, drawing from the guidelines provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Atlassian.
Communication with customers and stakeholders is crucial in maintaining trust and allowing them to protect themselves from data exposed by a breach. However, the timing depends on jurisdiction and legal advice.
Once a data breach or cyberattack has been discovered, companies work through four lifecycle phases as outlined by NIST: Preparation, Detection and Analysis, Containment, Eradication and Recovery, and Post-Incident Activity.
The preparation phase involves establishing policies, training, and tools before incidents occur. This includes forming an incident response plan, identifying personnel, and performing tabletop exercises.
Detection and analysis begins the moment a company finds an incident has occurred and begins taking steps to identify the impact and how it occurred. Teams assess the impact of the incident using detection tools and internal or external knowledge.
Incident response roles are delegated as teams assemble to allow multiple parties to respond simultaneously. Setting up internal communication channels for incident response team members is essential, using platforms like Slack or video conferencing links.
Escalation to the right responders is necessary to reduce the damage and time spent handling the incident. Containment, eradication, and recovery is the phase in which the threat has been removed from the system and the team mitigates the effects of the incident in the most effective way possible.
Post-incident activity involves taking an in-depth look at both the incident and the response to prevent incidents from happening in the future. This includes learning from the event through thorough reviews and improving the response program for future incidents.
Atlassian recommends building detailed incident response playbooks that clearly define initiating conditions and incident types, outline potential actions with dependencies, prioritize required versus optional steps, and construct core workflows using required actions to ensure consistent responses. Visualization with flowcharts or swimlane diagrams aids clarity.
Best practices across both sources emphasize preparation with documented policies and training; rapid, accurate detection and analysis; efficient containment and system recovery; and systematic post-incident reviews to improve future response. Structured playbooks, clear role definitions, prioritized actions, and integration with organizational security posture are central throughout.
NIST's more recent guidance aligns incident response with the six core functions of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ensuring that response activities are integrated throughout organizational processes rather than isolated steps.
In conclusion, understanding and implementing these best practices can significantly enhance an organization's ability to respond effectively to cybersecurity threats, ultimately reducing the cost and time associated with handling a data breach or cyberattack.
Technology plays a significant role in enabling effective incident response, with tools like Slack being utilized for internal communication among team members.
Incident response, as outlined by NIST, encompasses various phases: preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication and recovery, and post-incident activity, all of which are crucial in addressing a cybersecurity threat.
