Let's break down the Incident Response Lifecycle into simpler terms, using two examples: one from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States, and the other from the SANS Institute. Think of the Incident Response Lifecycle like the steps you would follow if you noticed a leak in your house. First, you prepare by knowing where your tools are, then you find the leak, stop it from getting worse, fix it, and finally, make sure it doesn't happen again. Here’s how organizations do something similar with cyber attacks:
Preparation: This is like setting up your toolbox and learning how to fix common problems in your house before they happen. For organizations, it means getting the right tools, setting up a team, and making sure everyone knows what to do if there's a cyber attack.
Detection and Analysis: Imagine you're walking around your house regularly to check for any leaks or cracks. For organizations, this step is about constantly watching their computer systems to quickly spot any signs of trouble and understand exactly what's wrong.
Containment, Eradication, and Recovery: Once you find a leak, you quickly put a bucket under it to catch the water (containment), then you patch the leak (eradication), and finally, you dry out the wet area and make sure everything is back to normal (recovery). Organizations do something similar by stopping the cyber attack from spreading, getting rid of the hacker's access, and then fixing any damage.
Post-event Activity: After everything is fixed, you'd look back to figure out why the leak happened and how you could prevent it from happening again. Organizations review the attack and their response to learn and improve their defenses.
Preparation: Similar to NIST's first step, it involves getting ready before anything bad happens. This includes setting up policies, identifying what needs the most protection, and forming a response team.
Identification: This step is like noticing that something in your house isn't working right, which might indicate a problem like a leak. For organizations, it means spotting when something unusual happens in their systems that could be a cyber attack.
Containment: This involves immediate actions to stop the problem from getting worse, kind of like turning off the water supply to a leaking pipe.
Eradication: Here, you get rid of the problem for good, like fixing the leaky pipe, and make sure it can't happen again.
Recovery: You put everything back together, making sure it's as good as new and checking that the fix holds up.
Lessons Learned: Finally, you think about what happened, write down everything that went wrong and right, and plan how to be better prepared next time.
In both models, organizations also have checklists for each stage to make sure they don't miss anything important. This helps them handle cyber attacks effectively, just like how a checklist can help you make sure you've fixed a leak properly and your house is ready if it happens again.