Seven Steps For Incident Response And Navigating Cyber Disasters
An organization’s initial reaction to a cybersecurity incident is critical when a ransomware attack or a data breach occurs. These actions ultimately determine whether the incident escalates into a more damaging issue or is contained swiftly. A quick and timely response can help mitigate the impact and minimize financial losses, protect sensitive data and safeguard the organization’s reputation.
Below are seven essential steps organizations can take to navigate a cyber disaster swiftly and efficiently:
1. Have Your Call And Contact List On Hand
Let’s say you’ve just discovered a serious breach. The first thing to do is contact someone from upper management or a leader who has been designated as a responsible authority in disaster scenarios. This individual must then move forward with a plan of who to call and engage. This could mean reaching out to the legal team, the communications team, a cyber partner, an insurance provider, a forensics expert—people who will help guide you through the process.
2. Contain And Isolate The Impacted Systems
The next priority is containment and preventing further damage. Disconnect infected machines, disable user accounts that have been compromised and isolate affected systems to prevent the threat from escalating or the malware from spreading. Avoid taking extreme measures such as shutting down servers or wiping off systems without saving evidence of destruction. Always prioritize threat containment without losing any data, as this data could serve as an important piece of evidence for things like forensic analysis, insurance claims or potential lawsuits.
3. Document A Chain Of Custody
A chain of custody is a paper or electronic document that records the chronological sequence of custody, which includes ownership, transfer, analysis and disposition of materials of evidence. Most businesses overlook this step; things can grow complicated when lawyers and insurers become involved. Ensure that evidence (such as metadata, administrative logs, router logs, date and file info, access privileges, etc.) remains intact and due diligence is done to store it properly, preserve its authenticity, and prevent it from being tampered with or corrupted. It is advisable that you leverage an experienced cybersecurity partner or a forensic expert to help you document this chain of custody.
4. Eradicate The Threat
Once all evidence is collected, you’ve probably gained some insight into the threat and how it entered your environment. This means that you can now implement steps to eliminate or eradicate any malicious software, close out any vulnerabilities that were exploited, or remove any unauthorized access such as backdoors or compromised accounts. Initiate steps such as changing your passwords, rebooting your routers, patching your systems and reinstalling compromised software. Again, ensure that you capture all evidence prior to eradicating the threat as you don’t want to lose vital information during the cleanup process.
5. Begin Recovering Your Systems And Data
Since the threat has now been neutralized, you can begin the restoration of normal operations. If feasible, try to bring your least critical systems back online first and then work your way up to the more important ones. If you have data backups available, now would be the time to restore them. With that said, ensure that your backups are not infected or compromised prior to reintroducing them. Installing backups without a thorough check could potentially lead to a reinfection or open the door to further breaches in the future. Keep thorough records of all actions taken during containment and mitigation. These records are essential for post-incident analysis and for compliance or legal purposes.
6. Conduct A Post-Incident Review
As your backup and recovery process progresses, initiate a post-incident review to identify gaps in your security controls or processes. This involves a thorough analysis of the root causes of the threat, how it was detected, how well the team responded, the gaps in security procedures, what went well, what did not go well, etc. Use your learnings to bolster your security controls and processes—installing new security systems, improving security monitoring, training staff, tightening network access controls, and adjusting your incident response, business continuity, and recovery plans.
7. Stay On Guard For Future Threats
As threats evolve, so must your preparation and response strategy. Stay updated with emerging threats, and run internal and external penetration tests periodically to identify security weaknesses proactively. Boost your threat detection mechanisms. Patch your systems frequently. Improve your ability to respond and recover from incidents. Make staff aware and prepared for upcoming threats. In a nutshell, focus not just on threat prevention or detection but on incident preparedness and cyber resilience.
The key to managing a cyber incident effectively is following a systematic approach. From keeping a contact list ready, to containing and eradicating the threat, to documenting a chain of custody, to recovering your data—each step is crucial to ensuring that your incident response is timely and effective.
This article was originally posted on Forbes Technology Council >
