Incident response is known as the cybersecurity incident response. It is the process that companies use to identify cyber threats and security branches. The incident response plan allows cybersecurity teams to prevent damage before it gets worse.
It also reduces business costs and keeps operations safe from disruptions. Incident response is the technical part of incident management that includes legal management and HR. Companies have an incident response plan (IRP) that entails how different cyber-attacks can be detected and resolved. It helps to prevent the damage before it gets worse.
Security Incidents
There are different types of security incidents that can affect the company’s IT infrastructure and aim to steal sensitive data. From unauthorized access to violations of IT security policies, there are different types of breaches. Let’s find out about these security incidents in detail.
Ransomware
Ransomware is known as malicious software that aims to get and steal access to a victim’s data. The attackers use this tactic to ask for ransom from victims so that the data can be returned safely. Ransomware is one of the most common attacks that affect businesses, so companies need to have a good incident response plan in place.
Supply Chain Attacks
Supply chain attacks target the company’s vendors, in which confidential information from the suppliers’ system is stolen. This attack usually occurs by spreading malware.
DDoS Attacks
DDoS stands for denial of service attack, in which attackers try to get control of large numbers of computing systems and exploit them by injecting bogus traffic or malware. As a result of this attack, legitimate users lose access to the relevant resources.
Phishing
A phishing attack occurs in the form of a voice message or digital message that manipulates sensitive information. In phishing attacks, malicious software is also downloaded to companies’ computing systems. Phishing messages are also sent by attackers who seem authentically from a credible company.
Insider Threats
There are different types of insider threats. Malicious insiders can compromise the company’s information security. On the other hand, negligent insiders are authorized users who unintentionally compromise security by not following the set practices.
MITM Attacks
The MITM attacks occur in emails that aim to steal sensitive information like passwords and usernames. The attackers use this stolen information to inject malware into the intended recipient.
Privilege Escalation Attacks
This attack occurs when cyber thieves gain limited access to the privileges in the system to gain higher privileges. The ultimate goal is to get access to sensitive data by stealing the credentials.
How Incident Response Works
The incident response plan follows a step-by-step process to respond to cybersecurity threats and fix the issues. Let’s find out more about it.
Preparation
The first step of incident response is preparation. It involves the selection of the best tools, techniques, and processes to respond to and detect threats. Also, preparation is involved in recovering from the incident without disrupting the business operations.
Detection and Analysis
In this stage, teams monitor suspicious activities. They analyze relevant data and notifications to look for anomalies or threats. The team tries to extract accurate information so the right threats can be detected.
Containment
The containment is about preventing breaches or malicious software from doing any damage to the network. The emergency incident response plans have two types of containment, including short-term mitigation measures and long-term mitigation measures.
Eradication
Once threats are contained, the teams start working to remove the threats from the system. It includes the removal of malware or unauthorized users from the network. The team also reviews the systems to check there are no traces of breaches.
Recovery
After completely eliminating the threat from the system, the incident response team enforces policies and builds systems again from backups.
Post-Incident Review
Different pieces of evidence are collected in each stage of incident response to eliminate threats. Teams review this collected information to better understand the incident. They aim to identify the root cause of the attack so the right measures can be taken to eliminate the threats.
Incident Response Technologies
There are different incident response technologies used to automate workflow, correlate data, and identify incidents in real time to respond to in-progress attacks. These technologies include EDR (endpoint detection and response), SOAR (security orchestration, automation, and response), ASM, SIEM (security information and event management), and UEBA (user and entity behavior analytics). Let’s find out more about these solutions.
ASM
The ASM automates the analysis, discovery, and monitoring of threats that can occur in the assets of the company. It can discover the unmonitored network assets to ensure everything is working fine.
SOAR
SOAR allows teams to coordinate with different security operations and tools in response to security incidents. SOAR can automate these workflows and make things easier for teams.
EDR
EDR helps to protect the endpoint of a company’s IT assets against cyber threats. EDR gathers data from endpoints of the network and assesses this data in real time to find out about the suspected cyber threats.
XDR
XDR technology merges all security tools, data sources, analytics, and control points to create a system that can prevent, detect, and respond to threats. XDR also removes silos among tools and automates the responses across the cyber threat kill chain.
SIEM
SIEM correlates and aggregates the data from firewalls and threat intelligence feeds and from the devices of the network. It also provides accurate threat intelligence to the relevant team members so they do not have to deal with false positives.
UEBA
UEBA involves machine learning and analytics algorithms to detect abnormal behavior and potential dangers. It can be effective in detecting insider threats or hackers that use the compromised credentials.
AI and Incident Response
AI helps companies build a solid defense mechanism against cyber threats. Attackers are now also leveraging AI to make their attacks more damaging. Therefore, companies need to harness AI-based tools and solutions to improve incident response plans. AI-enabled security tools offer the following benefits to companies in the detection of cybersecurity threats.
Quick Detection
AI-enabled systems help speed up the process of threat detection and improve the monitoring of massive data so that teams can act promptly to identify and resolve the issue.
Proactive Response
Another benefit that AI-powered systems offer is the proactive incident response procedures that offer real-time insights to security teams. It helps automate incident triage and isolate affected systems.
Accurate Prediction
With AI-based tools, companies can enhance their incident response process by generating incident reports. These detailed summaries help in accurate projections of threats that can occur in the near future so the response team can implement the right measures accordingly to prevent any security incident.