What is an incident response team?
An incident response team is a specialized security unit within an organization whose primary duties involve responding to cyber incidents and addressing compromised systems, applications, and data.
While automated cybersecurity tools are essential for dealing with cyber attacks, incident response teams are an irreplaceable component of enterprise cybersecurity. Without strong incident response teams, businesses can’t effectively bounce back from cyber attacks, especially those that target critical systems. Incident response helps reduce downtime and outages resulting from cyber threats and help address root causes to prevent problematic incidents from recurring in the future.
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Incident response frameworks, like NIST CSF and CIS Controls, break down the incident response process differently. And each enterprise’s incident response process depends on numerous factors, including existing IT and cloud infrastructure, business goals, budgets, and sector-specific intricacies. However, the fundamental duties of an incident response team remain the same: When cyber incidents occur, they must identify the root cause, analyze the damage, fix the resulting issues, and take proactive measures to prevent similar security incidents in the future.
Why are incident response teams so important? According to a report published in 2023, 66% of those surveyed claimed that cybersecurity has become more difficult, and 27% claimed that it has become extremely difficult—with the majority of respondents pointing to the increase in cyberattacks as a primary factor. As cybersecurity demands grow at alarming rates, it’s of paramount importance for enterprises to optimize their incident response teams.
What are the common roles on an incident response team?
For comprehensive incident management, businesses need a unified and well-balanced incident response team, rich with technical expertise and technical skills. Incident response teams primarily comprise IT professionals, but it’s also important to have representation from human resources, compliance, and legal teams.
Senior members of incident response teams typically focus on coordination and collaboration with key internal stakeholders. They also manage the overarching strategy and execution of the incident response lifecycle. On-the-ground team members focus on more technical incident response activities.
That said, businesses can delegate incident response roles and responsibilities based on their resources and needs. Some roles and responsibilities can be split between multiple individuals, and others may demand the sole focus of a single individual.
Let’s take a look at the most critical roles in an incident response team.
Incident Response Manager (IR Manager)
Objectives:
To lead and coordinate the incident response team and ensure the incident is managed effectively from detection to resolution.
To act as the point of contact between the incident response team and senior management.
Actions:
Oversees the development and execution of the incident response plan.
Ensures that all team members understand their roles and responsibilities.
Communicates the status of the incident to senior management and other stakeholders.
Makes decisions on escalation and resource allocation during an incident.
Reviews post-incident reports and lessons learned.
Education, Experience, and Certifications:
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or a related field
Experience: 7-10 years in IT security roles, with at least 3-5 years in incident response
Certifications: Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Incident Handler (GCIH), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
Security Analyst
Objectives:
Detect, analyze, and respond to security incidents.
Ensure the organization's security posture by monitoring for threats and vulnerabilities.
Actions Performed:
Monitors security alerts and logs for signs of incidents.
Performs triage on alerts to identify the severity and impact.
Analyzes compromised systems to determine the extent of the breach.
Recommends containment and remediation strategies.
Creates and updates incident documentation.
Education, Experience, and Certifications:
Education: Bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, computer science, or information systems
Experience: 2-5 years in cybersecurity, with experience in security monitoring and analysis
Certifications: CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker), CompTIA Security+, GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)
Forensic Analyst
Objectives:
To collect, preserve, and analyze digital evidence related to the incident.
To support legal and compliance requirements during the investigation.
Actions:
Acquires and preserves evidence from systems, networks, and devices.
Analyzes digital evidence to determine the extent and impact of the incident.
Creates detailed forensic reports and maintains the chain of custody.
Supports law enforcement or legal teams in case of legal proceedings.
Education, Experience, and Certifications:
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Forensics, Cybersecurity, or a related field
Experience: 3-7 years of experience in digital forensics or related fields
Certifications: Certified Computer Forensics Examiner (CCFE), GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst (GCFA), EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE)
Threat Hunter
Objectives:
Proactively seek out and identify threats that have bypassed existing security controls.
Enhance the organization’s ability to detect and respond to advanced threats.
Actions Performed:
Conducts threat hunting exercises using advanced tools and techniques.
Analyzes threat intelligence to identify indicators of compromise (IOCs).
Develops hypotheses on potential threats and tests them.
Creates custom detection rules and alerts.
Collaborates with security analysts to respond to identified threats.
Education, Experience, and Certifications:
Education: Bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, information systems, or computer science
Experience: 3-5 years in cybersecurity, with experience in penetration testing or security analysis
Certifications: GCIA (GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst), OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional)
IT Support/Systems Administrator
Objectives:
Support the incident response team by implementing containment, eradication, and recovery measures.
Ensure that IT systems are restored to normal operation post-incident.
Actions Performed:
Implements isolation of affected systems.
Applies patches and updates to systems as part of remediation.
Restores systems from backups as needed.
Ensures the integrity of system configurations during recovery.
Assists in the implementation of security tools and controls.
Education, Experience, and Certifications:
Education: Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, or a related field.
Experience: 2-5 years in IT support or systems administration.
Certifications: CompTIA A+, Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Fundamentals, or similar certifications.
Communications Officer
Objectives:
To manage internal and external communications during and after a security incident.
To ensure consistent and accurate messaging is delivered to all stakeholders, including employees, customers, partners, and the media.
Actions:
Drafts and disseminates communications about the incident to internal teams, senior management, and external stakeholders.
Coordinates with the IR Manager to ensure all communications are aligned with the organization's incident response plan.
Manages media inquiries and public statements.
Prepares post-incident communication, including lessons learned and preventive measures.
Education, Experience, and Certifications:
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, or a related field
Experience: 5-7 years in corporate communications or public relations, preferably with experience in crisis communications
Certifications: Accredited in Public Relations (APR), Crisis Communication Specialist (CCS)
Legal Advisor
Objectives:
To provide legal guidance and ensure that the incident response process complies with relevant laws and regulations.
To protect the organization from potential legal liabilities related to the incident.
Actions:
Reviews the incident response process to ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and internal policies.
Advises on the legal implications of actions taken during the incident response.
Coordinates with external legal counsel, law enforcement, or regulatory bodies if necessary.
Reviews and approves public statements or communications from a legal perspective.
Education, Experience, and Certifications:
Education: Juris Doctor (JD) degree with a focus on cybersecurity law, data protection, or privacy law.
Experience: 7-10 years of legal experience, with 3-5 years in cybersecurity or data protection law.
Certifications: Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP)
What are the different kinds of incident response teams?
There are primarily three different kinds of incident response teams: internal, external, and hybrid. Each incident response team model offers unique advantages and trade-offs, and what works for one business may be detrimental to another.
Here’s what each model entails and why a business might choose it:
Internal incident response teams
An internal incident response team comprises in-house IT and cybersecurity professionals. It could also include representatives from other departments in the company. In an internal model, incident response teams rely on existing infrastructure, tools, capabilities, and expertise to detect and resolve cyber incidents.
Internal incident response team models can result in faster response times because team members are already well-acquainted with the company’s IT ecosystem. However, internal teams may struggle to mitigate incidents that demand highly specialized skills or knowledge. Another factor to consider is that internal incident response teams may approach their tasks with inherent biases and perspective limitations.
External incident response teams
An external incident response team is made up of outsourced IT and cybersecurity professionals. In this model, businesses use the services of a third-party provider to respond to cyber incidents.
External incident response teams provide many unique benefits, including rich and diverse cybersecurity knowledge, vast cross-industry experience, easier scalability, and a more objective approach to complex cyber challenges. However, external incident response teams may lack knowledge of an organization’s goals and tech stack. Depending on the scale and needs of an enterprise, this model can also be quite expensive.
Hybrid incident response teams
A hybrid incident response team features both internal and external team members. In this model, businesses may assign certain incident response roles and responsibilities to in-house employees, and outsource others to third parties.
With a hybrid incident response team, businesses can potentially unlock the best of both worlds. A hybrid incident response approach can leverage the domain-specific knowledge of in-house professionals and address knowledge and skills gaps with the help of external experts. With powerful leadership and meticulous execution, hybrid incident response teams can be an effective and affordable solution for many enterprises.
Best practices for building an incident response team
The following are some important best practices and recommendations that businesses should consider when forming an incident response team.
1. Start building your team before the incident
It’s critical that incident response teams are ready to respond before an incident occurs. If your team is internal, make sure that all team members are clear on roles and responsibilities. If you are engaging external experts, consider a retainer structure so that the external team is familiar with your environment and ready to respond ahead of time. This is particularly important in cloud environments, where critical data can be lost if teams do not move extremely quickly when an incident is first detected.
2. Evaluate existing IT and cybersecurity capabilities
When building an incident response team, businesses must have a clear picture of what IT and cybersecurity capabilities already exist within their ranks. To do so, enterprises should conduct a thorough cybersecurity skills and capabilities assessment to uncover existing incident response strengths and weaknesses.
3. Define critical roles and responsibilities
It’s crucial that all critical roles and responsibilities (discussed above) are staffed and integrated into incident response teams. Businesses must clearly define and differentiate the scope and objectives of each of these roles. If particular in-house skills are lacking, it’s a good idea to consider augmenting with a third-party cybersecurity expert.
4. Ensure around-the-clock availability
Considering the volume and velocity of cyber attacks today, companies can’t afford to have incident response teams with nine-to-five schedules. To ensure 24/7 availability, businesses may have to be creative with how they structure their incident response teams. For example, they may choose onsite staff for a traditional nine-to-five shift and online or off-site team members for the remaining hours.
5. Nurture a positive and healthy security culture
To establish a robust incident response team, it’s essential to create a vibrant cybersecurity culture that replaces blame with respect and accountability. Furthermore, no one can expect overworked cybersecurity professionals to keep their perimeters safe. That’s why it’s best practice to make sure that roles and responsibilities are proportionately and fairly distributed amongst team members and that job satisfaction and morale are healthy at all times.
6. Focus on cloud skills and capabilities
There’s a major cybersecurity skills shortage across the world, and cloud security, in particular, is a critical and glaring deficiency. Since most enterprises embrace cloud-based infrastructures and services, cloud skills and knowledge must be a core requirement of incident response team members rather than an afterthought or secondary skill.
7. Identify the right tools for incident response teams
The best way to create strong incident response teams is by equipping team members with the best incident response tools. For example, by providing forensics teams and incident responders with end-to-end cloud forensics tools, runtime sensors, and a robust cloud detection and response (CDR) platform, businesses can significantly boost their cybersecurity potency.
How Wiz can augment incident response teams
Alongside frameworks, templates, plans, and playbooks, incident response teams are critical in ensuring robust and stable cloud operations. The best way you can support your incident response teams is by commissioning a unified cloud security solution with powerful and dynamic CDR and forensics capabilities.
With Wiz, your incident response team can achieve complete visibility of cloud environments, use cloud native incident response playbooks, and automate cloud forensic data gathering and analysis to keep you safe from cyber attacks.
Get a demo now to see how Wiz can strengthen and empower your incident response team.
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