A Complete Guide to Incident Response Frameworks

While avoiding technical incidents altogether should be the main objective for any IT team, the unfortunate reality is that they will occur. When they do, it’s paramount that every relevant team member understands their specific roles, the actions to be taken, and the resources they have at their disposal. To help accomplish this, business leaders must establish an unambiguous incident response framework that outlines all the processes involved in restoring normal operations as quickly as possible.

These frameworks are typically broken down into several distinct stages, ensuring that disruptions are always addressed in a systematic manner. These phases range from initial preparation to detection and eradication to post-incident analysis. This structured approach helps assure that not only are immediate issues addressed, but the proper steps are taken to verify that they don’t happen again in the future.

Today, we’ll take an in-depth look at what incident response frameworks are, the different steps involved in their execution, and the resources typically required in resolution processes.

What is an incident response framework?

An incident response framework is a standardized approach designed to help manage security incidents, such as data breaches, cyberattacks, or system failures, in a systematic manner. These frameworks provide a set of guidelines and best practices for organizations to follow during a technical disruption, ensuring that they can quickly identify and contain the impact of the event. They typically include stages such as preparation, identification, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned.

Why are incident response frameworks important?

Incident response frameworks allow businesses to institute a methodical approach to mitigating disruptions by outlining the processes, roles, and responsibilities needed to manage incidents. Having a predefined plan in place helps to quickly identify and address incidents, reducing the potential for extended downtime, financial loss, or reputational damage.

Moreover, following a systematic blueprint empowers companies to learn from each incident and refine their processes to better handle future occurrences. This continuous improvement contributes toward adaptation to new threats and challenges, thus enhancing a business’s ability to maintain service continuity.

Key steps in incident response plans

To ensure a structured approach, incident management involves a series of well-defined steps, each playing a vital role in mitigating the impact of disruptions and restoring normalcy. From preparation to post-incident review, each stage guides organizations through the complexities of incident response, ensuring that every phase is handled with precision and coordination. 

1. Preparation stage

The preparation stage in incident management involves establishing the foundation needed to effectively respond to disruptions when they occur. Here, responsibilities include developing and implementing policies, procedures, and tools that will guide the company’s response to various types of incidents. Business leaders also must define roles and responsibilities, set up an incident response team, and create clear communication plans.

Additionally, this phase requires training and educating staff on their roles within the incident management process. Regular training exercises, such as simulations and tabletop exercises, should be conducted to test the readiness of the incident response team and other relevant personnel.

2. Detection & analysis stage

Detection and analysis efforts begin with monitoring and identifying anomalies or suspicious activities across an organization’s IT infrastructure. Advanced tools, such as intrusion detection systems (IDS), security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, and automated alerts, are typically employed to detect signs of potential incidents in real-time. Once an anomaly is detected, the incident response team must quickly analyze the data to determine whether it constitutes a legitimate security incident or a false positive.

Throughout the analysis, teams will gather as much information as possible to fully understand the incident, including identifying the attack vectors, the methods used by the attackers, and the timeline of the disruption. The goal is to accurately classify the incident, prioritize it based on its potential impact, and determine the most appropriate response. 

3. Containment, eradication & recovery stage

Containment is the first step in this phase, where the primary objective is to limit the spread and impact of an incident. Depending on the severity, containment can be short-term—such as isolating affected systems to prevent the threat from propagating—or long-term, involving more comprehensive measures to maintain business continuity while addressing the disruption.

After the incident has been contained, eradication involves completely removing the threat from the environment. This can require actions like deleting malicious files, disabling compromised user accounts, or patching vulnerabilities exploited during the disruption.

When the threat is confirmed to have been completely neutralized, the focus then shifts to recovery. Here, the organization works to restore affected systems, applications, and data to their normal operational state. This process often includes reinstalling clean backups, validating system integrity, and monitoring for any signs of residual issues. 

4. Post-incident stage

The final stage of a well-rounded incident management framework starts with a thorough post-incident analysis, where the incident response team, along with other relevant stakeholders, evaluates the disruption in detail. The goal is to understand what happened, how it was handled, and what could be improved. This involves assessing the effectiveness of all previous stages and identifying any weaknesses in the response plan. 

Based on the findings of this evaluation, businesses should take steps to update and refine their incident management processes. This could include revising the incident response plan, enhancing monitoring and detection tools, or implementing new security measures.

Common incident response frameworks

When it comes to managing IT-related incidents, organizations have several frameworks at their disposal to help guide their response efforts, with SANS and NIST being two of the most widely adopted. Both frameworks aim to provide a standardized approach to incident management, yet they offer distinct methodologies and areas of focus.

Let’s break down some of the similarities and differences in these two incident response approaches:

SANS incident response framework

The SANS framework is particularly valued for its practical, hands-on approach, which is grounded in real-world experience. This approach encourages organizations to not only focus on immediate incident response, but also to prioritize long-term improvements by learning from each incident. It also stresses the importance of post-incident analysis, as it encourages businesses to conduct a detailed review of the response efforts, which helps to identify areas for improvement and update procedures accordingly. 

NIST incident response framework

On the other hand, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) framework acts as a comprehensive guide designed to help organizations effectively manage and respond to cybersecurity incidents. NIST emphasizes the importance of preparation, including establishing an incident response team, developing a comprehensive incident response plan, and regularly testing and refining that plan. It also encourages companies to learn from each incident through thorough lessons-learned sessions, empowering them to enhance their security posture over time.

While there is some overlap in between these two frameworks, NIST places a stronger emphasis on the detection and analysis phase, ensuring that incidents are thoroughly understood before containment and eradication efforts begin. Furthermore, NIST provides more detailed guidance on the importance of continuous monitoring and proactive threat detection as part of the preparation phase. 

Key roles & responsibilities in incident response

Each incident response team member, from leadership to technical staff, plays a distinct role in ensuring swift and efficient resolutions to disruptions. Understanding these roles is essential for a seamless incident management approach, as it ensures that every aspect of the disruption is addressed comprehensively.

Some key responsibilities in incident response include:

Leadership

Leadership plays a critical role by providing direction, decision-making, and support throughout the entire incident response process. Effective leaders should establish a clear incident response strategy, allocate resources efficiently, and ensure that their team has the necessary tools and expertise to handle any situation.

In addition to managing the immediate response, leaders are instrumental in coordinating with external stakeholders, such as regulatory bodies, customers, and partners, to provide accurate information and maintain trust. They oversee the post-incident reviews as well, ensuring that improvements are implemented to prevent future incidents.

Investigation

Their primary responsibility of incident investigators is to collect and examine evidence related to a disruption, such as logs, network traffic, and system snapshots. This thorough assessment helps to identify how the incident occurred, which vulnerabilities or weaknesses were exploited, and the extent of the damage.

Investigators also often work closely with leadership to verify that all regulatory and compliance requirements are met, and they may assist in communicating findings to external stakeholders if necessary

Communications

Internally, communications ensure that all relevant stakeholders, including employees, management, and incident response teams, are kept informed about the status of a disruption, actions being taken, and any changes in procedures. Effective communication helps to maintain organizational cohesion, prevent misinformation, and verify that all team members are aligned with the response strategy.

Externally, these efforts involve handling interactions with customers, partners, regulators, and the media. Team members are typically tasked with delivering transparent updates to these parties, addressing their concerns and managing the business’s reputation. This might include preparing public statements, handling media inquiries, and coordinating with legal and compliance teams.

Documentation

Documentation requires meticulously recording all relevant details, such as the timeline of events, actions taken, decisions made, and evidence gathered. This serves multiple purposes: it ensures that there’s a clear and accurate account of what transpired, supports the understanding of the incident, and helps in evaluating the effectiveness of the response.

Even more, documentation is essential for compliance and legal purposes. It provides evidence that the organization followed proper procedures and took appropriate measures in response to the incident, which can be critical for meeting regulatory requirements and defending against potential legal claims. 

Legal representation

Lawyers are often involved in incident response as well, providing guidance on compliance with data protection laws and industry regulations, helping to mitigate legal risks and avoid potential fines or penalties. They assist in understanding the legal implications of the disruption, such as reporting requirements for data breaches and the necessary notifications to affected parties.

Beyond compliance and regulatory matters, legal representation is vital for managing potential litigation and protecting a company’s interests. They might offer advice on interactions with external entities, such as regulators, law enforcement, and third parties, and can help handle any legal proceedings that may arise from the incident.

Types of incident management tools & software

The right incident management software can make all the difference in minimizing the impact of IT disruptions. With a wide range of solutions available, each tailored to address specific aspects of incident response, it’s crucial for organizations to understand the capabilities of different types of incident management tools.

Let’s take a look at some key tools often involved in the incident response process:

Security Orchestration, Automation, Response (SOAR)

SOAR integrates various security tools and technologies to automate the detection, response, and remediation of cyber threats. By orchestrating the activities across multiple security systems, SOAR reduces the time it takes to detect and respond to security incidents, thereby minimizing potential damage.

By providing a centralized platform where security teams can manage alerts and automate repetitive tasks, SOAR ensures a faster and more efficient response to incidents. Through its automation tools, it also serves to reduce the manual workload on security analysts, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks that require human judgment.

Security Information & Event Management (SIEM)

SIEM is a technology used in incident management to collect, analyze, and correlate security events from various sources across an organization's IT infrastructure. SIEM systems offer real-time monitoring and analysis of security alerts generated by applications, network hardware, and other security devices. Its core function is to provide a comprehensive view of an organization's security landscape, allowing for the identification and prioritization of potential security incidents.

While SOAR and SIEM both work to enhance a business’s security measures, they differ in their scope and focus. SIEM primarily emphasizes the detection and alerting of security incidents, but often requires manual intervention to investigate and respond. SOAR, on the other hand, is a bit more comprehensive in scope, helping both with identification and automating the response to incidents. 

User & Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA)

In incident response, UEBA systems identify anomalous activities that could indicate potential security threats, such as insider attacks, compromised accounts, or advanced persistent threats. By establishing a baseline of normal behavior for each user and entity, UEBA can detect deviations from the norm, even if the activity doesn’t trigger traditional security alerts. 

Furthermore, UEBA enhances the ability to respond to complex threats by providing deeper insights into behavioral patterns. When integrated with other security tools, UEBA helps prioritize incidents based on the severity and context of the detected anomalies. For instance, if a user logs in from an unusual location, UEBA can assess the potential urgency of the issue and flag it accordingly to trigger an investigation.

Extended Detection & Response (XDR)

Unlike traditional security tools that often operate in silos, XDR integrates various data sources into a unified platform, enabling security teams to detect and respond to threats more efficiently. By aggregating data from multiple vectors, XDR provides a holistic view of an organization’s security environment, allowing for more accurate threat detection and streamlined mitigation efforts.

In incident response, XDR enhances a team’s ability to quickly identify and neutralize threats by offering a centralized, end-to-end approach. It not only detects potential security incidents but also orchestrates the response actions across different security components, reducing the time required to respond to disruptions.

Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)

EDR tools serve to continuously collect and analyze data from various endpoints to identify suspicious behaviors that may indicate a security incident. By focusing on endpoints, EDR provides deep visibility into the activities occurring on these devices, allowing security teams to detect threats that might bypass traditional security defenses, like firewalls or antivirus software.

Once a threat is identified, EDR systems can automatically isolate the affected device, prevent the spread of the attack, and initiate remediation actions, such as removing malicious files or restoring the system to an uninfected state. Even more, they often provide detailed forensics and analytics, helping security teams understand the root cause of an incident and develop more effective response strategies.

Leverage Freshservice to optimize your business’s incident response framework!

Freshservice is the preferred ITSM solution of businesses in various industries around the globe, providing a comprehensive set of tools and features designed to help organizations effectively manage their entire IT infrastructure.

Freshservice shines particularly bright in its incident response capacity, boasting an arsenal of powerful attributes such as alert management, which unifies all notification onto a single pane of glass to help address potential issues before they snowball, and service health monitoring, which provides a real-time, user-centric view into the state of your digital operations. If a disruption does occur, our robust knowledge base can house various solutions to recurring issues, helping speed up the resolution process and restore normal functionality as quickly as possible.

Looking for powerful automation to streamline internal processes and reduce manual workloads? Freshservice has you covered. When a ticket is raised, Freshervice can automatically categorize, prioritize, and route the request to the most appropriate team member, ensuring that issues are addressed in a prompt and accurate manner. Our Freddy AI-powered chatbot and knowledge base are also available 24/7 for end-users to resolve common inquiries on their own, further expediting resolution times and freeing up human agents for more value-added initiatives.