Incident Response and Corporate Policies
Effective incident response and clear security policies are the foundation of organizational resilience. Well-documented procedures, regular training, and practiced response capabilities determine whether incidents are minor disruptions or catastrophic failures.
Incident Response Framework
NIST Incident Response Lifecycle:
1. Preparation:
- Incident response plan documented
- Team roles and responsibilities defined
- Tools and access pre-configured
- Contact lists maintained
- Regular training and drills
2. Detection and Analysis:
- Monitoring and alerting systems
- Threat intelligence integration
- Triage and prioritization
- Initial scope determination
- Evidence collection begins
3. Containment:
- Short-term containment (isolate affected systems)
- Long-term containment (temporary fixes)
- Prevent spread to other systems
- Maintain business operations where possible
4. Eradication:
- Remove threat from environment
- Patch vulnerabilities
- Reset compromised credentials
- Rebuild compromised systems
5. Recovery:
- Restore systems to production
- Monitor for recurrence
- Validate fixes effective
- Return to normal operations
6. Post-Incident Activity:
- Lessons learned review
- Documentation updates
- Process improvements
- Communication to stakeholders
Essential Security Policies
Acceptable Use Policy:
- What employees can/cannot do with company resources
- Personal use guidelines
- Prohibited activities
- Monitoring and enforcement
Email Security Policy:
- How to handle suspicious emails
- Attachment restrictions
- External email identification
- Reporting procedures
Wire Transfer/Payment Policy:
- Verification requirements
- Approval thresholds
- Dual approval procedures
- No exceptions clause
Remote Access Policy:
- VPN requirements
- Device security standards
- Acceptable locations
- MFA requirements
Password Policy:
- Complexity requirements
- Rotation frequency (or not, if using password manager + MFA)
- Password manager usage
- MFA requirements
Vendor Management Policy:
- Security assessment requirements
- Access controls
- Monitoring requirements
- Termination procedures
Incident Reporting Policy:
- What constitutes incident
- Who to contact
- Timeline for reporting
- No-blame reporting culture
Documentation Requirements
Incident response procedures:
- Step-by-step playbooks
- Contact information
- Escalation paths
- Communication templates
Security procedures:
- Wire transfer verification steps
- Vendor onboarding process
- Access request procedures
- Password reset process
Training materials:
- New hire security training
- Role-specific training
- Refresher training content
- Simulated attack exercises
Audit and compliance:
- Control documentation
- Evidence of compliance
- Exception tracking
- Remediation plans
Training and Awareness
Initial training (onboarding):
- Overview of threats
- Company policies and procedures
- How to report incidents
- Individual responsibilities
Role-specific training:
- Finance: BEC, wire fraud, invoice fraud
- HR: Payroll diversion, credential theft
- IT: Technical threats, system security
- Executives: Whaling, deepfakes, CEO fraud
- All: Phishing, social engineering
Ongoing training:
- Quarterly security awareness
- Simulated phishing campaigns
- Tabletop exercises
- Lessons from real incidents
Measurement:
- Phishing simulation click rates
- Time to report suspicious emails
- Policy compliance rates
- Training completion rates
- Incident response time
Communication Plans
Internal communication:
- Who needs to know what and when
- Communication channels
- Update frequency
- All-clear notification
External communication:
- Customer notification triggers
- Regulatory reporting requirements
- Law enforcement coordination
- Public relations strategy
Executive reporting:
- Incident severity levels
- Escalation criteria
- Board notification requirements
- Regular security updates
Key Takeaways
- ✅ NIST framework provides structured incident response
- ✅ Documented policies establish clear expectations
- ✅ Regular training reduces successful attacks by 86%
- ✅ Practice scenarios through tabletop exercises
- ✅ Communication plans prevent chaos during incidents
- ✅ Continuous improvement from lessons learned
- ✅ Leadership support essential for compliance