All articles in the "Introduction to Cyber Security" series
- Cyber Security. Not What I thought
- Basics of Cyber Security Requirements
- The CIA Triad
- Introducing the ASD
- Introducing the Essential 8
- Mapping Strategies to controls
- Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Risks
- Introduction to Risk and Risk Management
- ICT Assets and Asset Registers
- Cyber Threat Awareness
- Introduction to Cyber Incident Response Plan
- Risk Management and Cyber Controls
- Risk Mitigation Plans
- Implement Security Controls
- Measuring Security
- Exploring Implementation Discrepancy
- CIRP as a Mitigation Strategy
The CIRP as a Risk Mitigation Strategy
In an Intro to CIRP, I looked at the core phases of incident management. It looked at the “what” and “how” of a CIRP. This article focuses on a CIRP in risk management and control effectiveness, CIRP’s should not be viewed as a reactive plan but as a fundamental and measurable component of a proactive risk management strategy
When viewed through the lens of risk management, a cyber incident is the reaction to a cyber risk. Therefore, the Cyber Incident Response Plan (CIRP) is a key risk mitigation strategy. By having a defined plan to prepare for, respond to, and recover from an incident, an organisation directly reduces the potential impact of a threat. While technical controls like the Essential Eight are designed to prevent the likelihood of an incident, the CIRP provides the necessary framework to manage the risk when cyber security controls fail. It is a safety net minimising an organisations financial, operational, and reputational damage.
Measuring the Effectiveness of a CIRP
A CIRP is only effective if its performance can be measured and evaluated. In keeping with the principles of measuring security control effectiveness, organisations must establish benchmarks to track the plan’s success. The ultimate measure is the plan’s ability to reduce the impact of an incident. Metrics such as ( common incident metrics ):
- mean-time-to-detect (MTTD),
- mean-time-to-contain (MTTC), and
- mean-time-to-recover (MTTR) .
These are key performance indicators (KPIs) used to evaluate a CIRP. A shorter MTTR, for example, demonstrates that the CIRP is helping the organisation restore services more quickly, thereby reducing business disruption.
For a more comprehensive look at incident response metrics and how to use them, checkout this article by SecurityScoreCard
Continuous Improvement through Review and Revision
The “ Lessons Learned” phase is crucial, but it must be integrated into a formal, continuous improvement cycle. This involves more than just a quick debrief. A structured post-incident review should be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the response against the established benchmarks. Findings from this review should be used to:
- Update the CIRP: Revise procedures, roles, and communication plans to reflect what was learned.
- Improve Controls: Feed insights back into the broader cybersecurity program, such as by implementing new preventative controls to close a newly discovered vulnerability.
- Conduct Remediation: Address any deficiencies in training or resources that hindered the response.
By making the CIRP part of this continuous review and revision process, an organisation ensures that its incident response capabilities remain current and effective against the evolving threat landscape. This transforms the CIRP from a static document into a dynamic and essential part of a mature risk management framework.