In the world of increasing cyber threats, having an effective 'Incident response action plan' is critical to an organization's cybersecurity. This plan outlines the various steps your organization should take upon detecting a security breach or incident. However, building such a plan is not an easy task and requires understanding of various technical concepts and strategic thinking. This blog post will delve into the details of how to build a robust Incident response action plan and how to put it into operation.

Introduction

Before our deep dive into implementing a robust Incident response action plan, it's very important to understand what Incident response is. Incident response is the process by which an organization handles a data breach or any other cybersecurity incident. Timely Incident response can greatly minimize the damage, financial and otherwise, and recover swiftly.

Step 1: Preparation

The first and foremost part of any 'Incident response action plan' is preparation. This involves assessing your current cybersecurity landscape and identifying the likely threats. It's important to establish a dedicated Incident response team and clearly define each team member's responsibility. Regular team training should be conducted to ensure everyone is ready to respond to an incident.

Step 2: Identification

Identifying a security breach can be quite challenging but is very critical to any Incident response plan. Companies must make use of security controls like intrusion detection systems or security information and event management systems to monitor network traffic and spot unusual activity.

Step 3: Containment

Once a security incident gets detected, the next step is containment. It involves the measures that can be taken to limit the damage of the breach and isolate affected systems to prevent further harm. This could involve disconnecting affected machines from the network, updating passwords, or blocking suspicious IP addresses.

Step 4: Eradication

The eradication phase involves finding the root cause of the breach and completely eliminating the threat from the system. This requires detailed forensics to make sure all associated malware or threats are removed and no backdoors are left open.

Step 5: Recovery

In this step, systems and devices that were affected are restored and returned to their normal functions. At this stage, systems are carefully monitored for signs of returning threats. Additionally, new security measures might be adopted to avoid future incidents.

Step 6: Lessons Learned

The last step, often referred to as the post-incident phase, is where your team learns from the incident and the response. Analyzing what went wrong, what went well, and what could be improved is crucial to refine your 'Incident response action plan'.

Regular Testing and Update

Apart from formulating an 'Incident response action plan', what's equally important is to test it regularly. The plan might look solid on paper, but it must be effective in real-world scenarios too. The Incident response team should simulate an array of threat scenarios to check the effectiveness of the plan and tweak it as needed. The plan should also be updated frequently to keep up with the new types of attacks and emerging threat landscape.

Global Compliance Standards

Having an 'Incident response action plan' not only secures your organization from cyber threats but also helps in complying with various global standards. For instance, complying with GDPR, PCI DSS, ISO 27001 requires having an effective Incident response system in place.

In conclusion, implementing a robust 'Incident response action plan' is not an option, it's a need to safeguard your organization's data and systems. In times where cyber threats are increasing exponentially, having a well-defined and tested action plan can save your day. Nevertheless, building an Incident response plan requires expert knowledge, strategic foresight, and rigorous testing. Following the step-by-step guide provided in this article, your organization can set a strong foot in building a robust cybersecurity Incident response framework.