Incident response involves coordinating strategies for handling cyber incidents and their aftermaths in order to minimize the impact. Incident response frameworks provide guidance for preparing, planning, and carrying out a response by outlining and explaining the components, actions, and phases involved.
Why is an incident response framework important?
According to Verizon’s “2022 Data Breach Investigations Report,” there were almost 24,000 security incidents in the year 2021, leading to over 5,200 confirmed data breaches. As breaches persistently increase, commonly due to hacking or malware, it is crucial to control and minimize the exposure.
When attackers successfully attack their target, consumers leave and state and federal agencies conduct investigations. They file legal claims and obtain victories worth millions of dollars. Hackers with malicious intent can breach tens of millions of credit cards, resulting in costs worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Breaches can result in the loss of jobs for C-level executives. Companies are required to implement more security measures and face increased scrutiny as part of the settlements. Following a breach, years of negative press are almost certain and it becomes crucial to manage the damage.
The increasing costs are causing organizations to implement real-time incident response techniques that minimize harm and lessen the time and expenses of recovery. Typically, the quality of the incident response procedure directly affects the final result.
There are various ways in which failing at incident response can occur, leading to increased losses. To prevent errors during incident response, organizations should consider reliable incident response frameworks. By utilizing these frameworks, organizations can improve their incident response plan, prevent response mistakes, and minimize the consequences of future breaches.
Incident response framework vs. incident response plan
An incident response framework offers a conceptual structure to aid incident response operations. Typically, a framework offers guidance on the necessary actions without specifying how they should be executed. Additionally, a framework allows for the inclusion or exclusion of elements to suit the requirements of a specific organization or group.
A plan consists of a series of specific steps aimed at accomplishing a goal. Additionally, a plan may specify the necessary resources and the roles and responsibilities that are required to be fulfilled in order to achieve its objectives.
The objective of an incident response plan is to provide efficient incident response by outlining the necessary processes, resources, communication, and escalation paths for dealing with computer security incidents.
The framework proposes that logical elements that should be incorporated in a plan, in addition to the elements of mission, services, people, process, technology, and facilities, are brought together through collaboration.
Preparation
In order to be effective, it is essential for every organization to have a pre-established plan for incident response, rather than being able to quickly initiate one. This plan should encompass measures for both preventing and addressing events.
Define the CSIRT (Computer Security Incident Response Team)
In order to effectively respond to an incident as it happens, it is imperative that every member of the CSIRT is aware of their responsibilities and the decisions they are accountable for.
The CSIRT ought to have a diverse group of professionals from both business and technical domains, possessing the necessary authorization to assist the business. The team should consist of individuals from management, technical, legal, and communications fields, alongside security committee liaisons. All departments impacted by an incident should stay informed, and each person should have a decision matrix to direct their actions throughout and following the incident.
Develop and update a plan
To ensure up-to-date plans and supporting documents, it is important to periodically review and update them. All personnel involved should have access to the relevant parts of the plan that correspond to their responsibilities and be notified of any revisions. Additionally, implementing a feedback loop after significant incidents will contribute to the continuous improvement of the plan.
Acquire and Maintain the Proper Infrastructure and Tools
To ensure that you can identify and analyze incidents, as well as gather and safeguard evidence, it is essential to possess the necessary capabilities. In order to ascertain the presence of an assailant within your system, it is imperative to possess endpoint security technology that offers complete visibility into your endpoints and collates incident data.
If you do not have the appropriate tools and processes to direct their usage, you will be insufficiently prepared to examine the means by which intruders are infiltrating your system, address an intruder’s current access, or forestall potential future access.
Detection & Analysis
The second stage of IR involves establishing if an incident took place, determining its severity and type. NIST provides five steps within this overarching phase.
- Pinpoint signs of an incident (precursors and indicators): Precursors and indicators are specific signals that an incident is either about to occur, or has already occurred.
- Analyze the discovered signs: Once identified, the IR team has to determine if a precursor or indicator is part of an attack or if it is a false positive.
- Incident documentation: If the signal proves valid, the IR team must begin documenting all facts in relation to the incident and continue logging all actions taken throughout the process.
- Incident prioritization: NIST designates this step as the most critical decision point in the IR process. The IR team can’t simply prioritize incidents on a first come, first serve basis. Instead, they must score incidents on the impact it will have on the business functionality, the confidentiality of affected information, and the recoverability of the incident.
- Incident notification: After an incident has been analyzed and prioritized, the IR team should notify the appropriate departments/individuals. A thorough IR plan should already include the specific reporting requirements.
Containment, Eradication, & Recovery
The containment phase aims to prevent further damage caused by an incident, allowing the IR team to strategically plan their next steps. These steps should involve addressing the root cause of the incident and restoring systems to their normal state.
Based on criteria such as, develop strategies for containment, eradication, and recovery step by step.
- the criticality of the affected assets
- the type and severity of the incident
- the need to preserve evidence
- the importance of any affected systems to critical business processes
- the resources required to implement the strategy
Every time, it is important to document these processes and gather evidence. This is crucial for two main reasons: first, to acquire knowledge from the attack and enhance the expertise of the security team, and second, to be ready for any possible legal actions.
Post-Incident Activity
Many organizations fail to recognize the opportunity to learn and improve from every incident, despite the fact that adversaries are constantly evolving. In order to stay updated with the latest techniques, tactics, and procedures, IR teams must actively keep up.
It is necessary to hold a lessons learned meeting after a major incident, and it is also recommended to hold such meetings after less severe incidents, in order to enhance overall security and improve incident handling. When major attacks occur, individuals from all parts of the organization should be involved as required, and extra consideration should be given to invite those who will need to cooperate during future incidents.
The review will take place during the meeting.
- what happened and when
- how well the IR team performed
- whether documented procedures were followed
- whether those procedures were adequate
- what information was missing when it was needed
- what actions slowed recovery
- what could be done differently
- what can be done to prevent future incidents
- what precursors or indicators can be looked for in the future
The outcomes of these meetings have the potential to serve as a valuable training resource for new employees. Furthermore, they can facilitate the revision of policies and procedures, as well as establish a repository of institutional knowledge that may prove beneficial in handling future incidents.
