Efficient incident response processes lead to reduced downtime, lower security operations costs, and higher ROI on security spend.

Cybersecurity is all about being prepared. Thorough incident response processes are crucial to your organizations’ ability to successfully overcome a security breach.

Prevention is important, though it can only take your organization so far. There is always a chance that attackers can breach defenses and compromise key systems.

What you do next is up to you:

• If your security team has planned for the type of unauthorized activity it just detected, you can implement a prepared incident response or automated SOAR playbook, then immediately begin investigating the scope of the damage and mitigating risks.
• If your team was caught unaware, panic will set in. Crucial time will be spent coordinating a response before assessing damage and risks.

Creating thorough incident response plans helps keep your organization in control and ensures rapid recovery when security breaches occur.

Every organization is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all plan. However, incident response frameworks provide a customized method for creating and deploying incident response plans across many industries and sectors.

What are incident response frameworks?

Incident response frameworks are comprehensive action plans that tell security leaders and their teams how to address breaches within their organizations. They provide a uniform foundation for recording and communicating details about security incidents.

This approach allows security leaders at different organizations to efficiently recover from security incidents. It also allows security leaders and team members to share the results of incident response investigations.

Adhering to a published incident response framework ensures your security team is ready to address cybersecurity risks effectively. Demonstrating compliance with well-known frameworks tells customers, partners, and key stakeholders that they can trust your organization.

Most security leaders focus on two incident response frameworks: NIST and SANS.

What about other frameworks?

NIST and SANS are not the only incident response frameworks around. Your organization may pursue compliance with other institutions based on its goals, industry, or geographical location.

Some other important and well-known incident response frameworks include:

• ISO 27035-1:2023, established by the non-governmental international standards organization. It overlaps with NIST in many areas, but with a greater focus on risk management.
• The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) publishes incident response frameworks for hardware and operating technology. These frameworks are usually highly technical guides for securing specific products and toolsets.
• The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) provides specific guidance for organizations operating in the European Union. This includes additional context and resources for meeting European data privacy laws and effectively launching cross-border cybersecurity investigations.

The bottom line: Incident response frameworks guide operational security success

Whether you choose to adhere to NIST, SANS, or a different incident response framework, having a standardized approach to security operations is the best way to ensure consistent outcomes. Enabling your security team to work faster and more confidently significantly reduces the disruption and business risk associated with security breaches.

Implementing a well-defined incident response strategy is key to obtaining consistent results when addressing these kinds of events. Robust, well-documented incident response playbooks empower security teams to proactively safeguard valuable assets and prevent catastrophic data breaches.

Find out more about how Lumifi’s people, processes, and technology can help you scale your incident response capabilities to meet the demands of a challenging threat landscape. Talk to an expert about enhancing your security capabilities today.