A cyber incident response plan is your business’s go-to rescue plan in the event of a security incident. This detailed plan helps your business to respond to and recover from incidents, minimising the impact it has upon your networks. A lot of businesses aren’t familiar with what a cyber incident response plan is, therefore, don’t have one set up. This then leaves them open to irreparable damage. No matter if your business is made up of 10 or 10,000 people, having the right guidance in place in the form of a cyber incident response plan can help negate the impact of an attack. 

For most businesses, it’s not a case of if, but when, they will fall victim to a cyber incident response plan. If, as a business owner, you’re wondering “what is a cyber incident response plan” and whether your business needs one, then the answer, in short, is yes. We’ve previously put together a guide on how to create a cyber incident response plan for your business, but in this blog, we’ll take a closer look into what a cyber incident response plan actually is, and why it’s vital that your business has one in place.

 

Why Do I Need A Cyber Incident Response Plan?

Having a sufficient and detailed cyber incident response plan provides your business with a plan of action for all significant cyber incidents. Some attacks and incidents can lead to huge data or network breaches, which can impact your business for days, or even months, and can be an extremely long and laborious recovery process. Should this disruption occur, then your business will need to have a thorough and detailed plan in order to help stop, contain and control the incident. This is where a cyber incident response plan comes in. 

Whilst there are no real ways in which you can prevent a cybercriminal from targeting your business, you can instead have a cyber incident response plan in place so that your business can properly respond to an attack. Should an attack occur with a cyber incident response plan in place, you can minimise and control the damage caused to your business. 

 

How Does A Cyber Incident Response Plan Work?

Many business owners will wonder what a cyber incident response plan is and, in short, it is a guide or process of steps which your business will follow in the event of a cyber attack. The idea behind having a cyber incident response plan is to eliminate the risk of poor decisions being made, or even worse, no decisions being made at all, in the event of an incident. 

With a cyber incident response plan in place, you greatly increase your chances of being able to control the damage caused by malicious breaches. You will likely have already made some decisions about what to do, which should be reflected in your cyber incident response plan. Here at CYFOR Secure, our Cyber Incident Response team are best placed to provide rapid response, on a 24/7 basis in order to limit damage and contain the incident. We use industry-leading expertise to provide our cyber incident response services, with proactive monitoring and protection. 

Upon discovery of a cyber incident, our team will respond quickly and efficiently to follow a proven methodology of minimising the impact this incident will have on your business, in line with your cyber incident response plan. We understand that this is a hugely time-sensitive incident, which requires an urgent response. 

 

What Happens In The Event Of A Cyber Attack?

When you discover the signs of a cyber attack, then the first point of action you should take is to contact us here at CYFOR Secure. Upon being instructed, our team will begin to investigate the cyber security incident. We use our experience in cyber incident response to follow your pre-outlined cyber incident response plan and begin to perform the required actions. 

We will typically begin lockdown procedures to prevent further data loss or damage, which also helps to mitigate risk to your business. During all steps of our cyber incident response, we’ll work to capture data and preserve evidence on any compromised or affected systems and document the breach. Then, we’ll work to investigate the incident and use forensic and information tools in order to determine the source of the attack. We’ll also use this information to understand the motivations behind the attack and work to identify the perpetrator. 

Following this, we’ll then provide you with a full log and details of the investigations undertaken and the results of these. Where necessary, we’ll also provide policy and technical remediations. 

 

Conclusion

It is recommended that every business has a cyber incident response plan in order to operate successfully. A well-executed cyber incident plan is a fully documented process that your business should follow in the event of a cyber attack. This document will outline the steps required to protect your data, reduce damage to your business and restore business operations. A good cyber incident plan should be brief, concise and to the point.

In today’s digital world, it’s more important than ever to have a fully developed cyber incident response plan. A cyber attack can be hugely devastating to a business, as well as for customers and clients, so it is important not to wait until it is too late. For more information on our cyber incident response plan, or to find out more about our managed detection services, get in touch with the team today.