What Every Incident Response Plan Should Include [With Template]

An incident response plan (IRP) describes what your team will do if a security incident unfolds. It defines threats, identifies containment and eradication processes, and appoints a team to handle the clean-up. Approximately 75% of businesses have an existing incident response plan. Of those who do, 80% tested it within the past 12 months.

Businesses that don't yet have a plan can use this incident response plan template to create one.

What is an Incident Response Plan & Why is it Essential?

An incident response plan serves as a blueprint for detecting, containing, eradicating, and recovering from a cybersecurity threat. It is an organization's primary source of guidance during a system breach or compromise.

A cyberattack can occur at any moment. When it happens, there's no time to waste—every second counts. Unprepared businesses may face regulatory or legal implications for a slow response, especially if it results in compromised customer data.

The incident response plan explains what steps to take following a cyberattack. It clarifies each team member's role so they know what they're responsible for. Instead of hand-wringing and chaos, management and staff can use the incident response plan to take immediate action.

Cyber incident response plans cover virtually any type of systems-related threat, including data breaches, ransomware, insider threats, and DDoS attacks. They're a must-have for all organizations, big or small.

What to Include in an Incident Response Plan

Incident response plans follow a simple structure, but they should be very detailed. You want staff to know exactly what to do when a threat occurs. Here's how to create an incident response plan and what information to include.

Purpose and Scope

This section defines the objective of the incident response plan. The purpose can include protecting system integrity, securing sensitive information, and maintaining system availability. If other objectives apply to your plan, be sure to add them.

The scope defines what systems fall under the incident response plan. This may include networks, servers, endpoint devices, and other system architecture.

List the departments involved in the incident detection, response, and eradication process. This will include your IT team, but should extend to other stakeholders, including company executives and legal counsel.

It may be necessary to create multiple IRPs for threats that require a different response, eradication, or recovery strategy.

Incident Response Team (IRT) and Roles

Identify the key roles that are responsible for implementing and enacting the IRP. These roles become part of the incident response team, and they'll have distinct duties if a threat arises. Some examples of key roles include:

• Incident Response Coordinator: Oversees the incident response and coordinates with internal and external stakeholders.
• IT and Security Analysts: Responsible for identifying, containing, and eradicating threats. May coordinate with external specialists during the containment and eradication process.
• Legal and Compliance: Assesses the legal risk of a breach and advises the proper legal actions to take.
• Human Resources: Holds employees accountable for insider or internal threats.
• Communications and Public Relations: Responds to media inquiries and shares public updates concerning the threat.
• Executive Sponsor: Makes key business decisions concerning the breach. May interface with other high-level stakeholders, such as the board of directors.

Include the contact information for all internal and external individuals who are part of the IRT. Contact details should be reviewed and updated regularly. You may also want to list a backup person for each role.

Incident Classification and Severity Levels

In this section, identify what qualifies as a security incident. Clearly outline the types of threats and their potential severity to prioritize the response required.

Severity levels can range from one to five, with a level-one incident being the most catastrophic. Organizations define each severity level based on its business and customer impact, and what's required to resolve the issue. Keep in mind that there are no universal definitions as to what constitutes a highly severe or minimal threat. You'll need to carefully assign levels after assessing how each type of incident could affect the business.

Questions that can help you determine the appropriate severity level include:

• Who is affected by the security incident?
• What team or individual is needed to resolve the incident?
• Does the incident compromise sensitive information?
• How will responders update management and monitor response efforts?

Here's an example of how a business may characterize each security level.

Carefully consider the potential repercussions to determine the threat's severity. This will likely require an in-depth conversation with the IT staff responsible for overseeing system architecture, networks, and applications. You may want to include other internal stakeholders charged with managing data in your discussions.

Detection and Reporting Procedures

Define the methods and tools your organization uses to identify potential security incidents. This may be a combination of automated and manual solutions that detect abnormal activity and threats. Some examples of commonly used threat detection tools include:

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution: Provides a unified platform to assess anomalies and threats across your entire system architecture, including applications, networks, servers, and users. Maintains a log of data-related actions and events.
• Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Identifies and intercepts unauthorized or malicious traffic before it can infect networks or applications.
• Intrusion Detection System (IDS): Monitors the network for system anomalies or activities that violate your security policy.
• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): Assesses laptops, smartphones, PCs, and other endpoint devices for malicious activities or threats.
• User Reports: Statements from employees, customers, third parties, or others concerning a potential cyber threat.

Explain how individuals can report an incident and which contact methods to use.

This may include an internal ticketing system, dedicated hotline, or email address for the incident response team and its coordinator.

Provide a timeframe for reporting, but emphasize that security incidents require immediate attention.

Containment Strategy

Organizations may categorize their containment strategy into two categories: short-term and long-term. In the immediate aftermath of a security incident, the goal is to stop the spread of malicious activities into other systems. Staff should also close any system access the bad actor has to prevent further disruptions.

Determine which systems are affected and isolate them immediately. This can help keep the problem from escalating and disrupting other business systems. Depending on the type of attack and the systems affected, you may:

• Disable network activity
• Disconnect endpoints or servers
• Lock out specific user accounts
• Apply a temporary firewall to block unknown or unauthorized traffic
• Isolate systems to prevent further infiltration
• Implement additional monitoring to identify other security concerns

If the incident response plan covers multiple threats, consider using a chart to identify the proper short-term response procedures for each incident. Doing so can avoid confusion among the incident response team.

Over the long term, security analysts can work to pinpoint the root cause of the attack while keeping system disruption to a minimum. During the investigation, document all evidence of the incident. That information may be necessary for legal purposes. It can also help IT teams identify other security gaps and implement safeguards to prevent future exploitation.

Eradication Process

In the eradication phase, security analysts identify and remove threats. Use the forensic investigation as the starting point and classify each threat by its severity. Then, use the appropriate tools to remove threats based on their risk level, with high-priority threats receiving immediate attention.

Some threats may be removed using automated scanning tools. However, more severe or complex threats will likely require manual attention. Methods commonly used to eliminate threats include:

• System reimaging: clearing the affected system of malware and reimaging it for future use
• Patches: introducing protective code to prevent future system intrusions or eliminate application vulnerabilities
• System migration: moving unaffected assets to new systems to prevent further disruption during the recovery process

Recovery Plan

Hopefully, your organization has a clean, unaffected backup of its systems. If that's the case, security analysts can use the backup to restore systems at the last save point. This process can minimize ongoing disruptions and allow business activities to continue.

Before reconnecting any affected components, validate them to verify they're free of malware, viruses, or other threats. If the incident was undetected for some time, threats may have spread past their initial insertion point. Manual testing and automated scanning can help teams ascertain that components are free of further threats.

In the days and weeks of recovery, closely monitor systems for signs of reinfection or data exfiltration. Initiate the IRP again if the team detects a problem.

Post-Incident Review ("Lessons Learned")

As the dust settles and business returns to normal, gather the involved teams for a full debrief of the event. Use the 5W1H approach: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. This structure can help you organize the meeting and clarify points to address.

Consider how the incident response plan unfolded and if there are areas for improvement. You'll want to update the IRP for missing guidance or protocols that could streamline the recovery process if a future incident occurs.

Show the impact that the security incident had on the business, from its operations to financial expense. Seeing the numbers (and experiencing the reality) of a breach can drive home the importance of security to non-IT staff. Even if they weren't directly involved or at fault, such a meeting could encourage safer cyber hygiene.

Download our Free Incident Response Plan Template

To get started on your own incident response plan, download Clutch’s full incident response checklist here.

Every Organization Needs an Incident Response Plan  

You can't stop a hacker from attempting to breach your systems, but you can define how you'll handle it. With an incident response plan, you can feel confident that your organization is prepared for security incidents and won't be sidelined by a threat.

Use the template to guide your incident response plan, but customize it to your organization's needs. With the right plan in place, you can minimize your risks and get your business back on track if the worst happens.

About the Author

Hannah Hicklen Content Marketing Manager at Clutch

Hannah Hicklen is a content marketing manager who focuses on creating newsworthy content around tech services, such as software and web development, AI, and cybersecurity. With a background in SEO and editorial content, she now specializes in creating multi-channel marketing strategies that drive engagement, build brand authority, and generate high-quality leads. Hannah leverages data-driven insights and industry trends to craft compelling narratives that resonate with technical and non-technical audiences alike. 

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