IncidentResponsePlan

An incident response plan (IRP) is a documented set of procedures that an organization follows to detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity or information security incidents. The plan defines roles and responsibilities, communication channels, escalation criteria, and decision rights designed to minimize damage, preserve evidence, and restore operations quickly. An IRP is typically part of an overall information security program and should align with regulatory requirements, contractual obligations, and business continuity planning.

Scope and applicability: It covers networks, systems, endpoints, applications, data, and cloud environments, and applies to incidents such as malware infections, data breaches, ransomware, denial-of-service events, insider threats, and supply-chain compromises. The plan should be scalable to incidents of varying severity and priority and integrated with other incident management and disaster recovery processes.

Core components: an incident classification and severity matrix; defined incident response roles (for example IR lead, technical responders, IT, legal, compliance, and communications); playbooks and runbooks for common incident types; evidence handling and chain of custody; procedures for escalation and external notifications; and a documented communications plan for stakeholders, users, and regulators.

Incident handling lifecycle: preparation; identification and reporting; containment and isolation; eradication and remediation; recovery and restoration; and post-incident review. The IRP should specify data collection, forensic considerations, containment strategies, restoration timelines, and criteria for closing incidents, as well as how lessons learned are captured and tracked.

Testing and maintenance: regular tabletop exercises, drills, and technical simulations; training for staff and responders; periodic plan reviews and updates following incidents or system changes. Many organizations reference standards such as NIST SP 800-61, ISO/IEC 27035, and related regulations to guide implementation. Effective IRPs emphasize continuous improvement through metrics and post-incident reporting.