📊 Domain Overview
📈 IR Lifecycle Phases
🎯 Learning Objectives
- ✓ Understand the complete IR lifecycle
- ✓ Master forensic tools and techniques
- ✓ Learn effective containment strategies
- ✓ Develop incident handling playbooks
📋 Incident Response Lifecycle
The Incident Response lifecycle provides a structured approach to handling cybersecurity incidents. Understanding each phase is crucial for effective incident management and minimizing damage.
1. Preparation
Develop policies, plans, and communication procedures. Establish an incident response team and ensure proper training.
- Create incident response playbooks
- Define roles and responsibilities
- Establish communication channels
- Conduct regular training and tabletop exercises
2. Detection & Analysis
Monitor logs, identify indicators of compromise (IOCs), and determine the scope and impact of incidents.
- Analyze SIEM alerts and logs
- Investigate suspicious activities
- Determine incident severity and classification
- Document findings and evidence
3. Containment
Isolate affected devices to prevent spread while preserving evidence for analysis.
- Implement short-term containment
- Network segmentation and isolation
- System quarantine procedures
- Evidence preservation and chain of custody
4. Eradication & Recovery
Remove threats completely and restore systems to normal operations with enhanced security.
- Remove malware and threats
- Patch vulnerabilities
- Restore systems from clean backups
- Implement additional security controls
5. Post-Incident Activities
Conduct lessons learned sessions, root cause analysis, and update procedures based on findings.
- Document the incident thoroughly
- Perform root cause analysis
- Update incident response procedures
- Provide regulatory reporting if required
🔐 Key Incident Response Terms
Understanding key terms is essential for mastering the Incident Response domain. These terms form the foundation of effective incident handling.
Chain of Custody
Tracks the handling of evidence through each stage of the investigation. Maintaining an unbroken chain ensures evidence integrity and admissibility in legal proceedings.
SANS Evidence Collection Guide →Incident Response Playbook
Predefined response procedures for specific incident types. For example, a ransomware playbook may include steps for isolating affected systems, identifying encryption methods, and notifying stakeholders.
CIS Incident Response Playbooks →Mean Time to Detect (MTTD)
The average time it takes to discover an incident. Lowering MTTD is critical for minimizing damage. Tools like Splunk and ELK Stack can help reduce detection times through automated monitoring.
Mean Time to Respond (MTTR)
The average time it takes to resolve an incident. Automation tools like Cortex XSOAR can significantly reduce MTTR by streamlining response workflows and automating routine tasks.
🛠️ Essential IR Tools & Techniques
Effective incident response requires the right tools for each phase of the lifecycle. Here are the essential categories and recommended tools for comprehensive IR capabilities.