In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, cyber threats have become more sophisticated than ever before. Having an Incident Response Plan is no longer optional—it’s a fundamental necessity. While many organizations rely on Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) to secure their operations, it’s essential to recognize that external expertise alone may not fully shield you from all gaps related to Incident Response. To truly safeguard your organization, you need to go beyond the basics and address potential gaps in your current strategy. Practice shows that the requirements and potential gaps in incident response can differ significantly depending on whether or not an MSSP is involved. This is where Incident Readiness comes into play.
Incident Readiness equips your organization with the ability to detect weaknesses and identify readiness gaps before a cyber incident occurs. This proactive approach allows for a swift and effective response when it matters most. Utilizing the RE&CT framework can support the facilitation of this process. This open-source project is based on MITRE’s ATT&CK matrix organizes actionable Incident response techniques. It helps prioritize the development of critical Incident Response capabilities while conducting gap analysis to assess your current coverage.
Throughout each phase of the Incident Response process, there are specific Response Actions, which are further categorized to provide a clear roadmap. By conducting a Incident Readiness review, you can pinpoint where your strengths lie and, more importantly, where there are gaps that need to be addressed. The framework doesn’t just identify deficiencies—it outlines what these gaps should look like within each phase and category, providing actionable insights to fortify your defenses.
When examining the framework’s phases, it becomes evident that the preparation phase holds particular significance for Incident readiness. This insight is not only theoretical but also validated by practical experience. Preparing for a cyber incident—understanding what actions to take, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to detect an incident early—is often more challenging than the subsequent tasks of containing an attack or executing recovery plans.
Let’s delve deeper into the preparation phase and its Response Actions. One crucial aspect is the acquisition of technical capabilities. Below are key elements that contribute to robust preparation:
Procedural Preparedness:
- Practical Simulations: Conduct regular incident response drills to practice your IR plan, for example through tabletop exercises or purple team engagements.
- Crisis Communication Matrix: Establish a clear framework for internal and external communication during an incident.
- Emergency Task Force: Form a dedicated crisis management team with predefined roles and responsibilities.
- Backup Strategy: Ensure your data and critical systems are backed up and can be swiftly restored.
- Network Architecture Map: Maintain an up-to-date map of your network infrastructure.
Technical Capabilities:
- Access to Relevant Logs and Data: Ensure quick access to crucial data, such as DNS, DHCP, VPN, EDR, AV, email headers, and attachments.
- Evidence Collection: Implement processes for collecting forensic evidence, such as creating disk images.
- Response Measures: Develop the ability to execute containment actions, such as blocking users, IPs, domains, files, or processes, and quarantining suspicious files.
While these points may seem straightforward, the reality is that many organizations remain unprepared for the worst-case scenario. It’s one thing to know what needs to be done during a cyber incident, but quite another to know how to execute these actions effectively.
For example, blocking a malicious IP on a firewall may sound trivial, but what happens if the person with the required firewall access is unavailable? What if no one knows where to find the blacklist, or worse, only a single network admin has access, and they are on vacation when a cyberattack strikes? Scenarios like these are surprisingly common, yet entirely preventable with proper Incident readiness.
Once you feel your organization is well-prepared from a technical standpoint, the next challenge lies in recognizing the attack—often under difficult, high-pressure circumstances. If you have access to advanced security tools like EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), detection can be more manageable. However, the key is maintaining a high detection rate and being able to distinguish between false positives and true threats. Without the right expertise, this can be incredibly challenging.
In conclusion, Incident readiness is about taking the time to prepare properly for a cyber incident. It’s not just about having tools and processes in place, but understanding how to collect relevant logs and evidence and taking the right containment steps when the need arises.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure of where your organization stands in terms of Incident readiness, the Falcon Team at SECUINFRA is here to help. We specialize in identifying your gaps and working with you to close them, ultimately enhancing your organization’s cyber resilience. The next article will focus on Forensic Readiness, demonstrating how IT systems can be optimally prepared for forensic analysis.
Because, as we all know, it’s not a question of if your organization will face a cyberattack, but when.
