Even the best IT teams can’t go it alone during a cyber incident. Learn why a coordinated, well-practiced response plan is essential, and how to build one before it’s too late.
Our CIO advisory practice has helped many IT teams with incident response (IR) planning and tabletop exercises, where we help evaluate the IR team and the IR plan by walking them through several types of realistic incidents.
From ransomware attacks to account or data security compromises, every decision during an incident matters. The difference between a few days of disruption and a full-blown business continuity crisis comes down to preparing carefully so you know how to respond, who you involve, and when you engage them.
The Risks of Handling IR Yourself (or worse, figuring it out as you go)
For many small and mid-sized IT organizations, the first instinct after discovering a potential breach is to lock things down and start triaging internally. That’s understandable– your team knows your systems best.
But this DIY approach can quickly create blind spots:
- Evidence gets destroyed inadvertently. Teams isolate or rebuild systems before forensics data can be captured, eliminating critical clues that could prove the scope or source of compromise.
- Insurance coverage becomes complicated. Most cyber insurance policies require that specific vendors be engaged, that notice be given within a short window, and provide specific guidance and services like forensics or engaging law enforcement. DIY containment before notifying the insurer can put coverage at risk.
- Legal exposure increases. Notifications to regulators, customers, or affected individuals must be precise, crafted to reduce risk, and follow what can be stringent and complicated regulations. Without coordination with legal and privacy counsel, statements made during a breach can create lasting liability. Making sure you establish basic protections like attorney-client privilege is crucial.
- The response burns out your IT staff and complicates activating your business continuity plan. Incident response is exhausting. Pulling the same small team that runs your production environment into 24/7 incident mode leaves no one focused on helping the business maintain operations or follow any operational continuity plans.
Even the most capable IT teams are rarely equipped to manage the full scope (legal, technical, regulatory, and reputational) that comes with a serious incident.
Have a Real Incident Response Plan
Having a solid incident response plan (IRP) is the most important step you can take to avoid the risks of improvising. Yet, many times organizations either lack a plan or have a document that hasn’t been meaningfully updated or tested recently. A modern IRP needs to be a living, operational playbook. It should define:
- Who declares an incident and who leads the response
This eliminates confusion about who is in charge and provides clarity as to when the IR process is activated. - When to involve outside partners and experts
You wouldn’t perform your own audit or litigation defense without external expertise. A cybersecurity incident response is not much different in that it is also a legal, operational, and financial event that benefits from expertise and an objective perspective. The plan should list your incident response vendors, cyber insurance contacts, managed security provider, and legal counsel, with 24/7 contact information. - Clear escalation paths
Not every alert is a crisis, but when one is, you need a fast and predictable chain of communication with secondary and tertiary incident managers. (This is especially important when the ransomware attack happens on that 3-day holiday weekend.) - Communication protocols
Who speaks to executives, regulators, customers, or the press, and what guidance exists for staff about what not to share. - Testing and tabletop exercises
Annual or semiannual tests reveal gaps, strengthen relationships, and build confidence among the team.
What to Do Now
You can’t prevent every incident, but you can significantly strengthen your response capabilities by taking these steps before you need to respond to an attack:
- Reach out to Cyber and IR vendors. Confirm your coverage and responsibilities now. Make sure you understand the engagement process and establish contingency agreements ahead of time. (No one wants to be negotiating contracts during an incident when time is of the essence.)
- Create a realistic incident response plan. Train people on their responsibilities and test the plan with a tabletop exercise. Include your executives in this process so they are not surprised when asked to make decisions.
- If you don’t have a 24/7 SOC, explore using an MSSP to provide round-the-clock MXDR monitoring and mitigation response expertise. They can also help ensure you have technical controls in place to avert incidents in the first place.
- Review, refresh, and evaluate the plan at least annually or as significant changes happen in the technology environment. (On-premises and Cloud response plans are typically quite different.)
Don’t Wait to Find Out the Hard Way
If there is one message to take away from all this, it is that incident response is not a time for improvisation. The pressure, complexity, and risk are simply too high. Every organization — especially mid-sized enterprises without dedicated IR staff — needs a well-defined plan, trusted partners, and the discipline to follow it.
Your IT team’s expertise is invaluable, but it shouldn’t stand alone. Surround it with the right ecosystem of internal and external partners, and you will be in a much better position to bring speed, confidence, and expertise to bear when it matters most.
Be Ready Before It Happens
Ensure your organization can respond confidently under pressure. Strengthen your team’s readiness with an Incident Response Tabletop Exercise or speak directly with our cybersecurity experts to build your plan.
