What are the best ways to build a career in incident response?

Gain practical experience through internships, entry-level positions, or by participating in cybersecurity projects. Building a strong foundation in networking, system administration, and security fundamentals is crucial. Real-world scenarios enhance problem-solving skills and provide a deeper understanding of incident response processes. Establish a strong professional network by attending industry conferences, joining online forums, and connecting with seasoned professionals. Engage with the incident response community to stay informed about best practices and emerging trends. Actively seek mentorship opportunities to benefit from the experience of seasoned professionals in the field.

To enhance your knowledge of information security and start a career in IR. It is recommended to learn the basics and develop soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. Incident response often requires working with different teams and communicating effectively with stakeholders. It is beneficial to familiarize yourself with incident handling frameworks, such as NIST’s Computer Security Incident Handling Guide. These frameworks provide a structured approach to incident response.

To excel as an incident responder, a robust understanding of cybersec fundamentals, including networking, operating systems, and common attack vectors, is essential Familiarity with the incident response lifecycle—preparation, detection, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned—is crucial. courses like SANS 508 for Win or 575 for Android/iOS offer valuable insights This is a highly effective approach I usually do when monitoring someone, choose a category from MITRE, then ask them to study this category very well like "persistence" techniques, then extract all possible artifacts that could be an indicator for a persistence in a fresh window installation.By applying the attack then detect it as part of the purple team activity

Gain practical experience by interning, volunteering, and connecting with helpful people. Participate in community challenges to learn.

Attending local conferences such as BSides and Defcon chapters can be a great way to meet new people and expand your knowledge. Many certification companies also have local chapters that provide opportunities to connect with like-minded professionals and share industry insights.

To stay informed about the latest developments in the market, I suggest connecting with Cybersecurity Incident Response from CISA. Additionally, there are several reputable news agencies focused on cybersecurity that can provide valuable insights for staying up-to-date and informed.

One of the significant steps to advance a career in incident response is to acquire advanced education and seek guidance from experienced professionals in the field.

There is no easy short cut for it but to gain skills from Experience. Experience in IR is best way to advance further. - Understanding the tech on which an Enigneer is working on is critical. - Softskills Matters a lot - in every Job role - communicating the Incident brief to Stake Holders and collaborating with different Teams effectively to drive the Incident smoothly. - Organizing well and creating timeline IR Report is something management love to see to know what IR has done to respond to this Incident. - Participating in Webinars, Threat Intel briefs, IR Meetups, Conferences, IR Table - Top Exercise. This Helps to keep up-to-date with Threats Landscape. - Review the IR incident which we responded to Improve further. - UP-SKILL !