What is incident response in cybersecurity?

“2TB of user data was breached in the latest cyber-attack.” That’s unfortunately a real headline that is all too common. Earlier this year, as airlines shut down and stranded thousands of travelers around the world, people felt the effects of what a broadscale outage related to cybersecurity can cause. Entire industries, jobs and lives can be impacted for an indeterminate amount of time and require a swift response.

It's a hard truth: With new technologies comes new risks of a data breach. But there are ways to proactively protect your organization, end users and yourself. Incident response (IR) is the systematic approach taken to manage and mitigate the effects of a cyber incident. Understanding incident response is crucial for organizations of all sizes.  

The main goals of incident response

IR in cybersecurity involves the end-to-end processes and procedures that organizations implement to identify, manage and recover from cyber incidents. These incidents can range from data breaches and ransomware attacks to denial-of-service attacks (DoS), which is when legitimate users are unable to access information systems, devices or other network resources due to the actions of a malicious cyber threat actor. 

If you’ve ever experienced a data breach or had your identity stolen, you understand the sheer sense of panic that sets in as you watch sensitive information altered or even currency stolen right out of your bank accounts. It’s a helpless feeling and why a proactive IR strategy is so important for minimizing damage, protecting sensitive data and ensuring business continuity.

The main goals of incident response include:

• Quickly identifying and containing incidents
• Reducing recovery time and costs
• Safeguarding sensitive information and maintaining stakeholder trust

Phases of incident response

The IR process can typically be broken down into five key phases:

1. Preparation: This initial phase involves creating an incident response plan, establishing an incident response team and conducting training exercises. Organizations must ensure they have the right tools and technologies in place to detect and respond to incidents effectively.
2. Identification: During this phase, organizations must quickly detect and ascertain the nature of the incident. This involves monitoring security alerts, analyzing logs and investigating potential threats to confirm that an incident has occurred.
3. Containment: Once an incident is identified, immediate action must be taken to contain the threat. This could involve isolating affected systems, blocking malicious IP addresses or disabling user accounts to prevent further damage.
4. Eradication: After containing the incident, the next step is to eliminate the root cause. This may involve removing malware, closing vulnerabilities and applying patches. It's essential to ensure that the threat is fully eradicated before moving on to the next phase.
5. Recovery: In this phase, organizations work to restore systems and services to normal operation while monitoring for any signs of weaknesses or further incidents. This often involves restoring data from backups and validating the integrity of the systems.
6. Lessons learned: After the incident is resolved, organizations should conduct a thorough review of the response process. This phase focuses on analyzing what worked, what didn’t and how to improve future incident response efforts.

Importance of a response plan

Having a well-structured incident response plan is not just beneficial; it’s essential. And it must be documented and easily sharable amongst stakeholders in your organization. Everyone should literally be on the same page on what to do when a cyber incident occurs. What are the correct escalation pathways? Who are the right people or teams, such as IT, to contact and when?  What level of detail is needed for an appropriate response? 

A documented response plan helps organizations streamline their response efforts, reduce panic during an incident and ensure that all team members understand their roles and responsibilities. Moreover, a robust response plan can enhance an organization’s reputation, ensuring stakeholders that they can manage crises effectively. It’s better to have processes documented and never have to use it than be caught off guard in the moment.

Common challenges and trends in cyber incident management  

With each new technology, precaution or firewall designed to keep bad faith actors out, hackers are able to eventually come up with clever, new ways to circumvent these systems to breach sensitive data, often for ransom. Here are some common challenges organizations face:  

• Evolving threats: Cybercriminals continually develop more sophisticated tactics, requiring organizations to stay vigilant and adaptable.
• Resource limitations: Many organizations struggle with insufficient staff or budget to effectively manage incidents.
• Regulatory compliance: Navigating complex legal requirements and ensuring compliance can complicate incident response efforts.

Key trends to watch

1. Automation: Increasingly, organizations are leveraging automation tools to streamline detection and response efforts, reducing the time it takes to respond to incidents.
2. Integration of AI: Artificial intelligence is being used to analyze vast amounts of data quickly, enabling faster identification of threats and more effective response strategies.
3. Focus on training and awareness: Organizations are prioritizing employee training to raise awareness of cybersecurity risks and improve the overall effectiveness of their incident response teams.
4. Emphasis on collaboration: Collaboration between IT, legal and compliance teams is becoming essential for a holistic approach to incident response, especially in complex environments.

Role of Post-Incident Privacy Review

At Conduent, we recognize that a thorough post-incident review is vital. Our Post-Incident Response (PIR) solution leverages cutting-edge technology, automation and our professional experts to help response teams understand exposure and quickly notify at-risk parties. This approach efficiently manages data breaches through data mining and data capture. Our advanced technology quickly locates Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI) in exposed documents, ensuring accurate identification and regulatory compliance. Our Data Capture then organizes this information into detailed notification lists, facilitating timely and compliant communication with affected individuals. This helps mitigate risks and ensures a structured, effective response.

Example: If a basement is flooded, we are given a group of items and assess how wet or damaged the items have become. Next, we evaluate the data that is determined to be impacted and assess it for whether there is PII, PHI or sensitive information for clients, consumers, employees, etc. 

Conduent’s approach to incident review

 The incident response market is predicted to grow to $83.1B by 2032. In an era where cyber threats are becoming increasingly prevalent, a strong incident response framework is non-negotiable for organizations looking to protect their assets and reputation. By understanding the incident response process, emphasizing preparation and staying abreast of trends, legal counsels and cybersecurity professionals can better navigate the complexities of cyber incidents. Ultimately, a well-executed incident response can turn a potential disaster into an opportunity for growth and improvement. Learn more by visiting our Post Incident Privacy Review page.