What are key considerations for incident response team leader training?

The Incident Response process should be very robust. Analysts should have appropriate knowledge and playbooks to triage security alerts in the right way. Also teams should have expertise in Threat Hunting skillsets also.

Have a clear plan in place. Before an incident occurs, it is important to have a clear plan in place for how the incident response team will be managed and coordinated. The plan should outline the roles and responsibilities of team members, the communication protocols that will be used, and the decision-making process. Communicate regularly. It is important for incident response team leaders to communicate regularly with their team members and with stakeholders. This will help to ensure that everyone is aware of the latest developments and that the incident response effort is well-coordinated.

When it comes to critical cyber incidents, you can have the most skilled teams to deal with those threats, but if you don't have a solid communication plan, then it won't matter. Daily calls and daily reports are critical up to at least the CISO. I like to also keep crisis management and legal informed daily in case things take a turn for the worse. An incident commander needs to be able to take technical information and communicate it in a risk format to other audiences such as privacy, the C-Suite, and the board of directors. After each incident, there should be a formal incident report, lessons learned, and a post-mortem report.

It is important to consider that when making decisions that affect the entire company, to weigh the pros and cons. For instance, prioritizing and rating security events not only will save the company money, but will make the security posture that much stronger when that type of instance comes up again in the future.

Having mentored engineers in SIR, a recurring challenge is decision paralysis. Making no decision is typically worse than a bad decision in a cyber incident. Constant reinforcement of this outside SIR and performing tabletop simulations are crucial. Depending on our processes, if we see an Incident Commander being paralyzed, it either needs to be brought to their attention that a decision is required, or a different qualified IC will take over.

A good SIR team should be familiar enough with the framework to rely on external Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to quickly bring them up to speed and determine the best way to get to a particular outcome. I regularly tell people that we are the team with the least amount of context on the specifics during SIR. It seems like we have to know everything; this is a trap. For example, we can ask a team: what would be the best way to isolate the following resource without destroying any evidence or preventing it from spreading? As our systems become more dynamic (Autoscaling, Container Orchestration, etc.), it becomes more important not to assume we know the best way to handle X or Y as long as we know the goals and required parameters.

Use realistic scenarios: Incident response simulations and exercises should use realistic scenarios that are based on the organization's risk profile. This will help to ensure that the incident response team is prepared to respond to the types of incidents that are most likely to occur. Provide feedback: Incident response team leaders should provide feedback to their team members on their performance during incident response simulations and exercises. This feedback should be constructive and actionable, and it should be used to help team members improve their skills and knowledge.

Varying incident response scenarios is vital for incident response preparedness. Cyber threats are diverse and evolve rapidly. By changing scenarios, teams are exposed to a larger range of potential incident scenarios, enhancing adaptability and resilience. This ensures they're not just testing for known threats but also developing the agility to counter new, unforeseen challenges. Static and predictable simulations may lead to complacency, while diverse simulations keep teams alert, forcing innovative problem-solving and critical thinking.

Incident response is a team sport. No one person can effectively respond to an incident on their own. It is important to have a team of skilled and experienced professionals who can work together to respond to an incident quickly and effectively. Incident response is not a one-time event. It is important to continually review and improve your incident response plan and procedures. This will help you to ensure that you are prepared to respond to any incident, regardless of its size or complexity. Incident response is not just about technology. It is also important to consider the human element of incident response. This includes things like communication, crisis management, and employee support.

It's important to remember when considering "leadership", it shouldn't be confined to just IT and cyber teams. A diverse response team offers holistic management. For example: - Corporate communications can draft the external narrative, ensuring clarity for stakeholders. - HR oversees internal messaging and any personnel issues. - Legal provides insights on compliance, potential liabilities, and liaising with regulators. Each team knows their job well, helping to handle problems from different angles and reducing risks to the company's image, legal standing, and operations. Including a diverse team in incident response drills ensures they're prepared and "match fit" for when an incident does occur.