One of the network security concerns that seem impromptus is the incident response. You are likely to encounter a security incident if you operate a network that has a public access. How a company responds to such an event determines the efficiency of its system. Security incidents won’t wait for a company to put its ducks in a row. In fact, they tend to occur during peak hours. Here are five steps to help you lead a successful life as a security incident responder.
Incident Identification
The first step is to determine an incident that poses a threat to your network. You could analyze your logs to determine if there is a potential threat that can disrupt network services. Classify any event that can cause harm to your system as a security incident. Security incidents include any adverse event that has the potential to harm your network security.
Containment
The next thing after you have identified a security incident is to contain the damages. You can achieve this by stopping the spread of harm throughout your network. You could also prevent a security breach from harming networks outside your security boundary. The most immediate means of containing a security breach is to either isolate the affected machine from the system or disconnect it. You could also stop any service that could be causing the security breach. It is essential for the top-level management to designate authority to junior officers and allow them to disconnect systems once a security breach occurs. The designated authority should be in writing and available 24/7.
Incident Eradication
Once you have contained a security breach and its effects, the next step is to eradicate it. Your goal is to permanently eliminate any impact of a security breach from your network. It could involve the replacement of the hard drives and software that was damaged. Alternatively, you could reformat the hard drive and restore the network. Your primary goal is to find a way you can permanently remove the effects of a security incident from your system.
Network Restoration
The next step after the eradication of a security breach and its effects is to restore the network. The restoration method is determined by the extent of a security breach and its impact. You only need to reload the system, reformat the hard drives, apply patches, and restore the data from a secure backup. Alternatively, you could change security details if the incident involved changes in the security architecture.
Evaluation
It is essential for every company to devise a preventative maintenance plan to mitigate the likelihood of a similar incident reoccurring. Every security incident creates an opportunity for a network operator to learn from that experience. For example, you could modify your patch testing procedures if the security breach doesn’t require the application of patches. That way, your systems will be able to respond to future threats quickly. A security breach could occur if some of your security incident responders have inadequate training. It could include system administrators who don’t have the proper training or incident responders who open attachments from unknown sources.