The Essential Guide to Building a Cybersecurity Incident Response Program
A NIST Endorsed Process
Planning is an important part of any successful mission. Sure, you can haphazardly wing it, but when trouble inevitably does arise, it feels great to have insights on how you should go about handling it. How many of us have seen this first hand, watching others struggle to overcome obstacles that could have been avoided with proper planning and forethought? Incident response is an important component of IT plans. But performing it efficiently and effectively can be a very complex process. Successful response capability takes time, planning, & resources. Not every business can sacrifice the time or resources to do it right. Luckily for us we can build an incident response program using a National Institute of Standards & Technology’s endorsed process.
The Importance of Preparation
Before delving into the methods, let's first understand the reasons. Preparing for potential crises is crucial as it offers a framework and order amidst chaos. Since life is unpredictable, it's wise to anticipate and prepare for the unforeseen. This is also the best starting point for determining where and how to implement cost-effective security measures. Those of us in the security industry have heard too many stories about organizations who did not have a set structure as to whom handles what during an “all hands-on deck” scenario. It can be a fatal flaw that in turn costs more money via downtime as the organization formalizes authority and responsibilities that should have been done pre-crisis. When it comes to thinking about being cost-effective, we want proactive, automated security implementations that are not cumbersome. This can be one of the most challenging aspects of cybersecurity for those of us who do not have a security or IT background to grasp. Because even though both share some of the same end goals, IT and cybersecurity often clash (they are two distinct and separate things). One side is trying to protect the organization with the upmost importance and urgency, while the other is ensuring business processes are always available and running with the least amount of obstruction. I am sure some of you are already sensing the philosophical struggles cybersecurity professionals have to deal with.
Learned Lessons
If you're thinking, 'I'm too small, this doesn't apply to me,' you're mistaken. Research from Gartner shows that 61% of U.S. businesses experienced software development lifecycle (SDLC) attacks between April 2022 and April 2023 [1]. That means there is a pretty decent chance that somewhere in your business processes, the third-party software you rely on day to day, can potentially be a risk your organization needs to prepare for. As stated before, organizations without prior planning often struggle during an incident and the consequences can be devastating. Studies show that 60% of small businesses close down within six months of experiencing a data breach or cyber-attack [2]. With your business's financial stability and future at stake, it's essential for companies of any size to have systems in place to detect and respond to unusual network activity. I cannot stress enough that the data has shown us well handled incidents share one common trait: pre-planning. In the next sections we’ll go further in-depth on how to go about doing this when making your formalized IR plan, how to consult relevant NIST documentation, and I will share some templates and resources to aid you in your quest.
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