How to Write an Effective Incident Response Plan

Knowing how to write an effective cyber incident response plan strengthens your people as much as your technology. When employees are trained to recognise, report, and respond to incidents, organisations can manage security events quickly and with confidence.

Experiencing an information security incident is something no organisation wants, yet in today’s threat landscape it is increasingly a matter of when, not if. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), cyber security is one of the most critical risks facing the global economy. The report also highlights that collaboration and preparedness can significantly reduce the impact of cyber attacks.

“Collaborative incident response and information-sharing efforts attempt to centralise cyber security capabilities to reduce the impact of cyberattacks.”

An Incident Response Plan (IRP) is a vital part of this collaborative defence. Below, we explore why every organisation needs an incident response plan and outline the key elements involved in creating one.

Why Do We Need an Incident Response Plan?

An incident response plan provides a structured approach for dealing with cyber incidents such as malware infections, ransomware attacks, and unauthorised access. It helps organisations respond decisively, limit damage, and restore operations as quickly as possible.

Data breaches are rarely detected immediately. IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report revealed that it takes an average of 207 days to identify a breach and a further 73 days to contain it. A well-defined incident response plan can dramatically reduce these timelines.

Time is particularly critical when it comes to regulatory obligations. Regulations such as GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 require breaches to be reported within 72 hours. An incident response plan ensures that security and compliance teams know exactly what steps to take and what information is required.

What Is Included in an Incident Response Plan?

Writing an incident response plan involves a structured lifecycle approach: prepare, detect, respond, and recover. Having clarity at each stage can be the difference between prolonged disruption and a controlled recovery.

An effective incident response plan should include the following components:

Prepare

Preparation is the foundation of any successful incident response plan, and it begins with people.

Roles and responsibilities: Clearly define who is responsible for each action during an incident. Establish an incident response team and align responsibilities with existing security policies. Regular training ensures readiness.

Resource inventory: Maintain an up-to-date inventory of assets across all departments.

Risk assessment: Identify high-risk assets, assess likelihood versus impact, and evaluate your organisation’s ability to respond to attacks targeting those assets.

Incident types: Define what constitutes an incident, the types of incidents likely to occur, and escalation criteria for each scenario.

Regulatory mapping: Document relevant regulations and reporting requirements, including engagement with external authorities.

Incident log: Maintain a structured log to document actions taken, supporting both operational recovery and regulatory compliance.

Detect

The detection phase focuses on identifying incidents as early as possible.

Detection strategy: Define the tools and controls used to detect known and unknown threats, such as network monitoring or Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR).

Alerts: Identify systems responsible for generating alerts when suspicious activity occurs.

Breach assessment: Outline how to identify zero-day vulnerabilities, advanced persistent threats (APTs), and unauthorised access through compromise assessments.

Respond

An effective response minimises damage and prevents further data exposure. This stage focuses on containment and eradication of the threat.

Breach assessment: Confirm the validity and scope of the incident and prioritise alerts appropriately.

Containment: Define steps to isolate affected systems and prevent lateral movement.

Breach metrics: Classify affected data, assess sensitivity, and determine regulatory impact.

Threat removal: Detail procedures for removing malware, closing vulnerabilities, and securing systems.

Preserve evidence: Capture logs and forensic artefacts, documenting who, what, when, where, and why.

Breach notification: Prepare notification processes, including internal communications and public statements if required.

Legal and compliance liaison: Define responsibilities for engaging legal teams, regulators, and law enforcement.

Recover

Recovery focuses on restoring operations and learning from the incident.

Post-incident reviews: Identify gaps and improvement areas revealed during the incident.

Risk removal: Eliminate root causes and restore systems to a secure, pre-incident state.

Reporting: Produce incident reports to inform future prevention and support ongoing monitoring.

Frameworks and Standards for Incident Response Plans

Established frameworks can provide valuable guidance when developing an incident response plan.

ISO 27001 Annex A.16 offers best-practice guidance for managing the lifecycle of information security incidents.

NIST Incident Response Process outlines the four-stage approach of preparation, detection, response, and recovery.

Implementing an Incident Response Plan

Even the most comprehensive plan is ineffective without proper implementation. Regular staff training, realistic exercises, and tailored content ensure employees understand their role during an incident.

By creating a personalised incident response plan that reflects your organisation’s structure, risks, and regulatory obligations, you can significantly reduce the impact of cyber incidents and strengthen overall resilience.

Learn More About MetaCompliance Solutions

Developing and maintaining an effective incident response plan relies heavily on informed people, clear processes, and continuous improvement. MetaCompliance helps organisations embed these principles by reducing human risk and strengthening cyber resilience across the entire security lifecycle.

Our Human Risk Management Platform encompasses:

• Automated Security Awareness
• Advanced Phishing Simulations
• Risk Intelligence & Analytics
• Compliance Management

To see how these solutions can strengthen your organisation’s incident response capabilities and overall security posture, contact us today to book a demo.