incidentplan

Incidentplan is a formal document outlining the coordinated response to disruptive events to protect people, assets, information, and operations. It specifies activation criteria, roles and responsibilities, and the sequence of actions across detection, containment, eradication, recovery, and restoration. The plan supports wider business continuity and disaster recovery programs and applies to IT incidents, security events, physical incidents, and other operational disruptions.

Its core components typically include scope and objectives, incident classification and severity levels, an incident command structure, escalation paths, communications plans, evidence handling, and documentation requirements. It also contains runbooks or playbooks for common incident types, along with recovery checklists and success criteria.

Process flow: detection and initial assessment, validation, triage, containment, eradication, system restoration, service validation, and post-incident review. The plan outlines decision authorities, notification procedures, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory or contractual reporting obligations.

Governance and maintenance: ownership by senior management or risk/compliance functions, periodic reviews, training, tabletop exercises, and live drills. It emphasizes continuous improvement and integration with risk assessments, cyber security programs, and incident response capabilities.

Standards and interoperability: aligns with recognized frameworks such as NIST SP 800-61, ISO 22320, and ITIL incident management; may reference national or sector-specific regulations. Effectiveness depends on regular testing, clear communication, and documentation, and on coordination with external partners such as vendors, authorities, and customers.