Mission Critical Document: Cyber Incident Response(IR) Plan

The phone rings at 4:02am. Your IT Manager tells you, "You gotta come in, we've been breached." As a CISO or CEO, this is not the call you want to get on a Saturday morning, but hackers don't take weekends off. No matter what time of day it is, its definitely "GO TIME" for your IT department. If you've created a plan, drilled it, and dialed it in then you most likely already have people working on the problem and the right people have been contacted.

If not, you are at square one and you better come up with a plan quick.

To recover quickly and get the company back up and running, it is important to have a well-defined incident recovery plan in place to ensure effective communication and collaboration during a cyber incident.

Here are some best practices to include in your incident recovery plan:

1.     Define roles and responsibilities: Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of all team members involved in the incident response process. This includes identifying who is responsible for managing the incident, communicating with stakeholders, and coordinating with external parties such as law enforcement or third-party vendors.

2.     Establish communication channels and tools: Establish clear communication channels and tools to ensure that all team members can communicate effectively during an incident. This may include setting up a dedicated incident response hotline, using secure messaging platforms, or establishing protocols for sharing sensitive information. Remember, if your email server is down, you can't count on this way of communicating.

3.     Create communication templates and scripts: Develop templates and scripts for communicating with different stakeholders during an incident. This can help ensure that all communications are consistent, accurate, and delivered in a timely manner. Pick a spokesperson to represent the company and talk to the press if needed.

4.     Implement collaboration workflows and processes: Implement workflows and processes to facilitate collaboration between team members during an incident. This may include establishing procedures for sharing information, coordinating tasks, and tracking progress. Consider a checklist for each department involved.

5.     Conduct regular meetings and reviews: Conduct regular meetings and reviews to assess the effectiveness of your incident recovery plan and identify areas for improvement. This may include coming up with contingency plans to move the mission critical systems to a back up server.

6.     Update and improve your incident recovery plan: Continuously update and improve your incident recovery plan to ensure that it remains effective and relevant. This may include incorporating lessons learned from past incidents, updating procedures to reflect changes in technology or business processes, or incorporating new best practices.

7.     Conduct regular training and simulations: Regular training and simulations can help ensure that all team members are familiar with the incident recovery plan and are able to respond effectively during an incident. This can include conducting tabletop exercises, simulations, or drills to test the team’s response capabilities and identify areas for improvement.

8.     Establishing partnerships and collaborations with external parties: Law enforcement, third-party vendors, backup suppliers, your cyber insurance carrier, and other organizations can help improve your incident response capabilities. This can include sharing information, coordinating responses, or leveraging external resources to support your incident recovery efforts.

Cyber Insurance is just one part of the plan. Don't rely on your insurer to create your incident response plan. Your cyber insurer has a game plan and plays a crucial role in incident response by providing financial support and resources to help recover from a cyber incident, however, you still need contingencies to limit the scope of the claim.

Work with your cyber insurer as they can also provide guidance and expertise to help implement effective incident recovery plans.

The Importance of Communication and Collaboration in Incident Recovery

As a cyber insurance agent, I cannot stress enough the importance of having a well-defined incident recovery plan in place. Effective communication and collaboration are key components of any successful incident response, and there are several best practices that companies can follow to ensure that their teams are well-prepared to respond to a cyber incident.

According to a recent study, companies that have a well-defined incident recovery plan in place are able to recover from a cyber incident up to 50% faster than companies without a plan. Considering the average downtime is 15 days after a cyber incident, having a plan can result in significant cost savings and reduced downtime for your company.

Having a well-defined incident recovery plan that incorporates effective communication and collaboration processes is essential for any company looking to protect itself from the potential impact of a cyber incident.

As the cyber practice leader at C3 Insurance, I am committed to helping our clients develop and implement effective incident recovery plans to ensure that they are well-prepared to respond to any potential cyber threats.

Need a plan? Get in contact with me and we can help you craft your own incident response plan for your company.

Don't forget, you can still get your complimentary copy of 14 Steps to Securing your Company's Data.

Lastly, does your domain have vulnerabilities, compromised credentials, or open ports? Try our free cyber vulnerability checkup scan here.

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