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Incident Response Plan Template

Organization: [Your Organization Name] Version: 1.0 Last Updated: [Date] Plan Owner: [Name/Title] Next Review Date: [Date -- must be reviewed at least annually]

1. Purpose and Scope

Purpose

This Incident Response Plan (IRP) establishes the procedures and responsibilities for detecting, responding to, containing, and recovering from cybersecurity incidents affecting [Organization Name].

Scope

This plan applies to: - All information systems owned, operated, or managed by [Organization Name] - All employees, contractors, and third-party service providers - All data classifications (public, internal, confidential, restricted) - All facilities and remote work environments

Objectives

  1. Minimize damage and reduce recovery time and costs
  2. Preserve evidence for potential legal proceedings
  3. Comply with regulatory notification requirements
  4. Identify root causes and implement preventive measures
  5. Maintain stakeholder confidence through effective communication

2. Incident Response Team

Team Structure

Role Primary Backup Contact
IR Manager [Name] [Name] [Phone/Email]
Lead Analyst [Name] [Name] [Phone/Email]
Network Analyst [Name] [Name] [Phone/Email]
Systems Analyst [Name] [Name] [Phone/Email]
Communications Lead [Name] [Name] [Phone/Email]
Legal Counsel [Name] [Name] [Phone/Email]
HR Representative [Name] [Name] [Phone/Email]
Executive Sponsor [Name] [Name] [Phone/Email]

External Resources

Resource Company Contact Retainer?
Forensics Provider [Company] [Contact] Yes/No
Legal (Breach Counsel) [Firm] [Contact] Yes/No
Cyber Insurance [Carrier] [Policy #] Yes
Law Enforcement [Agency] [Contact] N/A
PR/Crisis Communications [Agency] [Contact] Yes/No

3. Incident Classification

Severity Levels

Level Name Description Response Time Escalation
SEV-1 Critical Active breach, ransomware, business-critical systems down Immediate Executive, Legal, External IR
SEV-2 High Confirmed compromise, sensitive data at risk 1 hour IR Manager, CISO
SEV-3 Medium Suspicious activity confirmed, limited scope 4 hours IR Team Lead
SEV-4 Low Security event, no confirmed malicious activity 24 hours On-call analyst

Incident Categories

4. Detection and Reporting

Detection Sources

Reporting Procedures

  1. Any employee who suspects a security incident must report it immediately to [reporting channel]
  2. The on-call analyst will perform initial triage within [X] minutes
  3. If confirmed as an incident, the on-call analyst assigns a severity level and notifies the IR Manager
  4. The IR Manager activates the appropriate response team based on severity

5. Response Procedures

Phase 1: Containment

Short-term containment (immediate actions): - [ ] Isolate affected systems from the network - [ ] Block known malicious indicators at the perimeter - [ ] Disable compromised accounts - [ ] Preserve volatile evidence (memory dumps, network connections) - [ ] Activate out-of-band communications - [ ] Notify IR team and stakeholders per escalation matrix

Long-term containment (stabilization): - [ ] Move affected systems to isolated analysis network - [ ] Deploy additional monitoring on adjacent systems - [ ] Implement temporary security controls - [ ] Begin detailed forensic investigation - [ ] Document all containment actions with timestamps

Phase 2: Eradication

Phase 3: Recovery

6. Communication Procedures

See the accompanying Communication Plan for detailed procedures.

Internal Notifications

Audience Method Frequency Owner
Executive Team Direct call + email Every 2 hrs (SEV-1) IR Manager
IT Staff Secure channel As needed Lead Analyst
All Employees Internal comms Post-containment Communications Lead
Board of Directors Executive briefing Within 24 hrs (SEV-1) Executive Sponsor

External Notifications

Audience Trigger Timeline Owner
Cyber Insurance Any covered incident Per policy Legal
Law Enforcement Criminal activity 24-72 hours Legal
Regulators Per applicable law Per regulation Legal
Affected Individuals PII/PHI breach Per applicable law Legal + Communications
Business Partners Shared data affected Per contract Account Management

7. Evidence Handling

Chain of Custody

All evidence must be handled following forensic best practices: 1. Document who collected what, when, where, and how 2. Calculate and record hash values (MD5 + SHA-256) for all evidence 3. Store evidence in a secure, access-controlled location 4. Maintain a detailed evidence log 5. Use write blockers when imaging physical media

Retention Schedule

Evidence Type Retention Storage
Forensic images 7 years Encrypted offline storage
Log files 3 years Secure archive
Incident reports 7 years Document management system
Communications 3 years Secure archive

8. Post-Incident Review

A formal post-incident review meeting will be held within 5 business days of incident closure.

See post-incident-review.md template for the meeting agenda and report format.

9. Plan Maintenance

Activity Frequency Responsible
Plan review and update Annually (minimum) IR Manager
Contact information update Monthly IR Manager
Tabletop exercise Quarterly IR Manager
Full simulation Annually IR Manager + Executive Sponsor
Training for new IRT members Within 30 days of assignment IR Manager

10. Approval

Name Title Signature Date
[Name] [CEO/Executive] ___ _
[Name] [CISO/IT Director] ___ _
[Name] [Legal Counsel] ___ _

Appendices

Template provided by Petronella Technology Group. For professional incident response services, contact us at 919-348-4912.