Incident Response Planning

🚨 Incident Response Planning: Your Emergency Playbook

The Fire Station Analogy 🚒

Imagine your computer systems are a town, and cyber attacks are like fires. Incident Response Planning is like having a fire station ready BEFORE any fire starts. You don’t wait for a fire to figure out who the firefighters are or where the fire trucks go!

What is Incident Response?

Think of it like this:

Something bad happens to your computer → You need a plan to fix it FAST

Just like when you scrape your knee:

1. You notice you’re hurt (Detection)
2. You figure out how bad it is (Classification)
3. You know who to call - Mom or the doctor (Team)
4. You follow steps - clean it, bandage it (Process)
5. You have a first-aid kit ready (Playbook)

🔄 The Incident Response Process

This is your step-by-step guide when something bad happens. Think of it like a recipe for fixing problems!

graph TD
    A["1. PREPARE"] --> B["2. DETECT"]
    B --> C["3. CONTAIN"]
    C --> D["4. REMOVE"]
    D --> E["5. RECOVER"]
    E --> F["6. LEARN"]
    F --> A

The 6 Steps Explained Simply:

Simple Example:

Scenario: A virus is spreading through office computers

1. Prepare: We already have antivirus software ✅
2. Detect: Antivirus alerts us: “Virus found on Computer #5!”
3. Contain: Unplug Computer #5 from the network
4. Remove: Run full virus scan, delete infected files
5. Recover: Restore clean files from backup
6. Learn: Write report: “Virus came from email attachment”

👥 The Incident Response Team

Every superhero team needs different powers! Your IR team is the same.

Who’s On The Team?

graph TD
    A["🎯 INCIDENT COMMANDER"] --> B["👨‍💻 Technical Lead"]
    A --> C["📢 Communications Lead"]
    A --> D["📋 Documentation Lead"]
    B --> E["Security Analysts"]
    B --> F["IT Support"]
    C --> G["Internal Comms"]
    C --> H["External/PR"]

Simple Example:

When a hacker breaks into your email:

• Commander says: “We’re under attack! Everyone, go!”
• Technical Lead: “I’ll block the hacker’s IP address”
• Analysts: “We’re tracing how they got in”
• Communications: “Telling employees to change passwords”
• IT Support: “Resetting affected accounts”
• Documentation: “Writing down timeline of events”

📚 Incident Response Playbooks

A playbook is like a recipe book for security problems. When something bad happens, you don’t have to think - just follow the recipe!

What’s Inside a Playbook?

Each playbook has:

• Trigger: What makes you use this playbook
• Steps: Exactly what to do, in order
• Who: Which team members do what
• Tools: What software/equipment to use
• Escalation: When to call for more help

Common Playbooks:

Simple Example - Phishing Playbook:

Trigger: Employee reports suspicious email

Steps:

1. ⏰ Don’t delete the email! Forward to security team
2. 🔍 Security team analyzes the email
3. 🚫 Block the sender’s email address
4. 📧 Send alert to all employees
5. 🔄 Check if anyone clicked the link
6. 🧹 If clicked: run that person’s playbook (Account Compromise)
7. 📝 Document everything

🔍 Incident Detection

How do you know when something bad is happening? You need alarms!

Detection Methods:

graph LR
    A["🔍 DETECTION METHODS"] --> B["Automated Tools"]
    A --> C["Human Reports"]
    A --> D["External Alerts"]
    B --> E["Antivirus Alerts"]
    B --> F["Network Monitors"]
    B --> G["Log Analysis"]
    C --> H["Employee Reports"]
    C --> I["IT Helpdesk"]
    D --> J["Security Vendors"]
    D --> K["Law Enforcement"]

Types of Detection:

Signs of Trouble (Indicators of Compromise):

• 🐢 Systems suddenly very slow
• 🔒 Files you can’t open (ransomware!)
• 📧 Emails you didn’t send
• 💸 Money missing from accounts
• 🌙 Activity at 3 AM when no one works
• 📁 Files in weird places

Simple Example:

Tuesday, 2:47 PM:

• SIEM Alert: “User ‘john’ logged in from Brazil and USA at the same time”
• This is impossible! John can’t be in two countries at once!
• Detection successful! Someone stole John’s password.

🏷️ Incident Classification

Not all incidents are equal. A paper cut isn’t the same as a broken arm! We classify incidents so we know how fast to respond.

Severity Levels:

Classification Categories:

graph LR
    A["INCIDENT TYPE"] --> B["🦠 Malware"]
    A --> C["🎣 Phishing"]
    A --> D["💔 Data Breach"]
    A --> E["🚫 Unauthorized Access"]
    A --> F["💥 Denial of Service"]
    A --> G["👤 Insider Threat"]

How to Classify:

Ask these questions:

1. What systems are affected? (Critical servers? User laptops?)
2. How many users impacted? (1 person? Whole company?)
3. Is data at risk? (Customer info? Passwords?)
4. Is the business stopped? (Can people work?)
5. Is it spreading? (Getting worse?)

Simple Example:

Incident: Employee clicked phishing link

Classification Checklist:

• Systems affected: 1 laptop ✓
• Users impacted: 1 person ✓
• Data at risk: Maybe employee’s password ⚠️
• Business stopped: No ✓
• Spreading: Unknown ❓

Result: Start at P3 (Medium), but check if it’s spreading. If the attacker accessed other accounts, escalate to P2 (High)!

🎯 Putting It All Together

When an incident happens, everything works together:

graph TD
    A["🚨 Something Happens!"] --> B["🔍 Detection: We notice it"]
    B --> C["🏷️ Classification: How bad is it?"]
    C --> D["👥 Team: Who needs to help?"]
    D --> E["📚 Playbook: What steps to follow?"]
    E --> F["🔄 Process: Do the 6 steps"]
    F --> G["✅ Resolved!"]

Real-World Scenario:

Monday, 9:15 AM - The Ransomware Attack

1. Detection: SIEM alert - “Files being encrypted rapidly on Server-5!”

2. Classification:

   • Critical server? YES
   • Data at risk? YES (customer records)
   • Business impact? YES (can’t process orders)
   • Result: P1 CRITICAL 🔴

3. Team Activated:

   • Incident Commander: Sarah takes charge
   • Technical Lead: Mike starts investigation
   • Communications: Lisa prepares employee notice
   • IT Support: Team ready to help

4. Playbook Selected: “Ransomware Response Playbook”

5. Process Steps:

   • Contain: Disconnect Server-5 from network (2 minutes)
   • Detect extent: Check other servers (clean!)
   • Eradicate: Wipe and rebuild Server-5
   • Recover: Restore from last night’s backup
   • Learn: Write report, patch vulnerability

Result: Business back online by 2 PM. No ransom paid!

🌟 Key Takeaways

💡 Pro Tips

1. Practice before emergencies - Run drills like fire drills!
2. Keep playbooks updated - Review them every few months
3. Everyone is a detector - Train all employees to spot trouble
4. Document everything - Write it down while it’s fresh
5. Learn from every incident - Every problem is a teacher

🎯 Remember: Incident Response Planning is like having a fire station ready. When trouble comes, you don’t panic - you follow the plan, and your team knows exactly what to do!