How do you define an incident manager's role?

1 Incident manager's responsibilities

An incident manager is responsible for managing the incident response lifecycle, from preparation to lessons learned. They act as the main point of contact for the team, the stakeholders, and the external parties involved in the incident. Specifically, an incident manager must establish and maintain the incident response plan and policy, activate and coordinate the incident response team, communicate the incident status, impact, and actions to the relevant parties, escalate issues and request resources as needed, facilitate decision-making and problem-solving processes, document the incident details, actions, and outcomes, and conduct a post-incident review and improvement plan.

2 Incident manager's skills

An incident manager must have a combination of technical, managerial, and interpersonal skills in order to be effective. This includes technical knowledge and experience in security, networking, and systems, as well as project management and organizational skills to plan and execute the incident response process. Furthermore, they need strong leadership and teamwork skills to motivate and coordinate their team members. Communication and presentation abilities are also essential for conveying clear messages to different audiences. Analytical and critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and stress management are also necessary for assessing the situation, making informed decisions, and handling the pressure of an incident.

3 Incident manager's qualities

An incident manager needs certain qualities or characteristics to cope with the challenges and demands of their role. They should be proactive and adaptable to changing scenarios and requirements, and responsible and accountable for their actions and results. Additionally, they should be confident and assertive to lead and influence others, curious and eager to learn from their experiences and feedback, as well as ethical and trustworthy to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the incident data.

4 Incident manager's role definition

Based on the responsibilities, skills, and qualities of an incident manager, we can define their role as follows:

An incident manager is the leader and coordinator of the incident response team, who oversees the entire process of identifying, containing, analyzing, and recovering from security breaches or cyberattacks. They are responsible for establishing and maintaining the incident response plan and policy, communicating the incident status, impact, and actions to the relevant parties, facilitating the decision-making and problem-solving processes, documenting the incident details, actions, and outcomes, and conducting the post-incident review and improvement plan. They need a combination of technical, managerial, and interpersonal skills, as well as certain qualities, such as proactivity, adaptability, responsibility, accountability, confidence, assertiveness, curiosity, eagerness, ethics, and trustworthiness.

5 Incident manager's role benefits

Having a clearly defined role for an incident manager can benefit the incident response team and the organization in several ways, such as improving efficiency and effectiveness of the process, reducing confusion and conflict, enhancing communication and collaboration, increasing accountability and transparency of actions and outcomes, boosting morale and confidence of team members, and learning from the incident to improve security posture and resilience.

6 Incident manager's role challenges

Despite the benefits of having a clearly defined role for an incident manager, there are also some challenges that they may face in their role. These can include dealing with complex and dynamic incidents that require quick and flexible responses; balancing the competing demands and expectations of the team members and the stakeholders; managing the resources and constraints of the incident response process; handling the emotional and psychological impact of the incident on themselves and others; and staying informed of evolving security threats and technologies.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?