Post-Incident Review – Analyzing the Incident Response Process
A Post-Incident Review is the cornerstone of the Lessons Learned phase. This review involves analyzing every aspect of the incident response process, from detection and identification to containment, eradication, recovery, and the final lessons learned. The aim is to understand what worked well, what didn’t, and why.
Key components of a post-incident review include:
Incident Timeline: Constructing a detailed timeline of the incident helps ensure that all actions taken by the response team are documented and understood. This timeline highlights critical decision points, response times, and the overall effectiveness of the response.
Performance Evaluation: The post-incident review should evaluate the performance of both automated systems (e.g., intrusion detection systems, monitoring tools) and human resources (e.g., incident response team members, department leaders). This evaluation helps identify gaps in the response process, such as delays, miscommunications, or failures to detect the threat in time.
Root Cause Analysis: It is essential to perform a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to understand the underlying causes of the incident. The RCA identifies vulnerabilities, weaknesses in policies or security measures, and other factors that contributed to the incident. Addressing the root cause ensures that the organization can take preventive measures and avoid similar incidents in the future.
Stakeholder Feedback: Gathering feedback from all relevant stakeholders—such as IT staff, senior management, legal advisors, and affected users—provides a comprehensive view of how the incident was handled. This feedback can be used to adjust the response strategy and improve coordination.