When a cyber incident occurs, a well-structured cyber incident response plan lays out clear steps to respond to the threat effectively and minimize impact. By adopting a practical approach based on expert guidance, including insights from our in-house cyber incident responders, you can make your response plan a powerful tool to greatly reduce the impact of a cyber incident and help your business bounce back fast—protecting your valuable assets against cyber threats.
What is a cyber incident response plan?
Imagine your business is facing a cyber threat with no clear roadmap to handle it—that’s a risk few companies can afford. In times of crisis, every second counts and every move matters in minimizing the incident’s impact. Here, cyber incident response plans are a vital safety net.
A cyber incident response plan outlines clear steps for responding to and mitigating the impact of a cyber security incident, such as a data breach or ransomware attack. As such, they are an important part of any cyber risk management strategy.
Plans are designed to enable businesses to response and recover effectively, helping IT professionals to address vulnerabilities, minimize damage and maintain business operations. Because responding effectively to a cyber incident requires everyone to take the right steps at the right time.
What does a cyber incident response plan involve?
If you suspect a cyber incident is happening, your first step is to contact your insurer before anything else. Only when we’ve gotten back in touch—within just minutes of your initial notification—you can trigger your plan.
The 5 steps to a strong plan
- Line up your key contacts: Know exactly who to call if a cyber incident happens. This includes everyone from your cyber insurance provider and IT team to senior management, legal, HR and communications teams. Plan for the unexpected—have at least two ways to reach each person and ensure there’s a backup contact in case anyone is unavailable.
- Set clear guidelines for response levels: Not every incident is a five-alarm fire, so outline a simple way to decide how intense your response needs to be. A severity matrix is helpful here: it helps your team quickly determine if an issue is critical, high, medium or low priority, so they know exactly when and how to act.
- Map out a response flow: A basic flowchart or step-by-step plan makes the process easy to follow. Cover every phase of incident response, from preparation, to detection and analysis, to containment, eradication and recovery, to post-incident review. This blueprint ensures everyone knows exactly what to do, no matter where they are in the process.
- Create a dedicated hotline or chat group: Establish an internal number or chat line specifically for incident-related discussions. When time is of the essence, your team needs one central spot for communicating quickly and efficiently
- Know the regulatory basics: Stay clear on any regulatory requirements that apply, including when you’ll need legal or HR support or guidance on gathering evidence. This ensures you don’t miss any compliance steps in the heat of the moment.
With a cyber attack recovery plan in place, businesses can operate with confidence, navigating the complexities of cyber threat management while safeguarding their assets and reputation.
Get more detail for your plans here.
Your cyber incident response plan blueprint
- Identify key contacts
- Outline escalation criteria
- Map your entire process
- Create a chat line
- Understand regulatory requirements
Cyber incident response plan vs. incident response strategy
A cyber incident response plan is designed to address the unique challenges posed by cyber threats and data breaches, and details actions for detecting, containing, and recovering from cyber incidents.
An incident response strategy encompasses a broader framework that can be applied to security incidents of a wide and varied nature, not solely limited to the cyber world.
Just as businesses need insurance solutions to cover physical and cyber risks, they need both types of response plan to stay ready for whatever’s round the corner.
What are the risks of not having a response plan?
Lacking a cyber incident response plan leaves businesses exposed to ever-rising cyber threats, and the risk of financial and operational losses these pose. This includes:
- Lost revenue: Cyber incidents can disrupt business operations, leading to downtime and decreased productivity, ultimately reducing sales and profitability.
- Financial penalties: Organizations may face hefty fines from regulatory bodies for noncompliance with data protection laws, resulting in unexpected financial burdens.
- Reputational damage: The trust of customers and stakeholders may be severely impacted, making it difficult to retain existing clients and attract new ones. Negative publicity can linger, damaging brand perception long after the incident.
- Potential lawsuits: Companies may face legal action from affected parties, including customers and partners, resulting in costly legal fees and settlements. This can further strain financial resources and distract from core business activities.
Without an emergency cyber response plan in place, organizations not only increase their vulnerability to cyber threats, but also risk long-term damage that can compromise their viability and success in the marketplace. Informed by the insights of underwriters and cyber incident responders, planning is essential to mitigate these risks and protect valuable assets.
What does a successful response look like?
To see how CFC empowers organizations with world-class cyber incident response, check out our case studies.
Ready to build your cyber incident response plan?
In the event of a breach, you need a solid cyber security plan—and a team you can trust.
CFC has the largest in-house cyber security and incident response team in the market. Our experts act quickly and accurately to control the crisis on your behalf.
- <15-minute response time
- 130+ experts
- 2,500+ events handled every year
- 24/7 support, courtesy of our follow-the-sun approach
We’re here to help you build a detailed cyber recovery plan and develop measures to prevent future incidents. Or, if you’d like to build your own plan in-house, our cyber incident response plan template can help get you started.
You can also explore our Cyber hub, where you can stay ahead in the rapidly evolving world of cyber insurance. And of course for anything else, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our underwriters. You can also reach our expert team at cybermarketing@cfc.com.
