What is Incident Response & Disaster Recovery? Definition & Best Practices

In today's world, incidents involving cybersecurity threats are becoming more frequent, and organizations are finding it more important to have an effective incident response and disaster recovery plan. In this article, we will explore what incident response and disaster recovery are, and the best practices for implementing them.


What is Incident Response?

Incident response refers to a process that an organization follows when it discovers an incident or event that affects its security. These incidents can be anything from a data breach, malware attack, ransomware attack, or any other form of cyber attack.

The goal of an incident response plan is to minimize the impact of the incident on the organization, reduce the downtime, and prevent the incident from happening again in the future.


What is Disaster Recovery?

​Disaster recovery is a process that organizations follow to restore their IT infrastructure and operations after a catastrophic event, such as a natural disaster or cyber attack, that disrupts their normal business operations. 

The goal of disaster recovery is to minimize the impact of the disaster and to restore operations as quickly as possible.

Disaster recovery plans typically include procedures for restoring IT infrastructure and data, as well as identifying critical business operations and prioritizing their recovery.


Best Practices for Incident Response & Disaster Recovery

Here are some best practices for implementing effective incident response and disaster recovery plans:

1.

Develop a plan: Develop an incident response and disaster recovery plan that outlines the procedures that will be followed in the event of an incident or disaster. This plan should include roles and responsibilities, communication protocols, and procedures for backup and recovery. ​​ ​

2.

Regularly test your plan: Regularly test your incident response and disaster recovery plan to ensure that it works as intended, and that employees are prepared to respond in the event of a disaster. It is highly recommended to use third-party security services, such as vulnerability scanning and penetration testing (VAPT) and security code reviews.They can help you identify security gaps and weaknesses in your application, and improve your security posture.

3.

Regularly train your team: Ensure that your team is trained on the incident response and disaster recovery plan, and that they understand their roles and responsibilities. This can help ensure that employees are prepared to respond effectively in the event of an incident.

4.

​

Regularly backup your data: Regularly back up your critical data to ensure that it can be quickly restored in the event of a disaster. Important data can be stored offsite to help ensure that data can be restored in the event of a disaster. ​

5.

Stay up to date: Stay up to date on the latest cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, and update your incident response and disaster recovery plan accordingly.

Takeaway 

​Incident response and disaster recovery are critical components of any organization's cybersecurity strategy. By developing detailed plans and regularly testing them, organizations can minimize the impact of incidents and disasters, and ensure that critical business operations are restored as quickly as possible. The best practices outlined in this article can help organizations effectively respond to incidents and recover from disasters.

Related Topics 

​7 Types of Cybersecurity Measures SMEs Need to Protect Their Business 

Ransomware - A Growing Problem & Best Practices For You And Your Company

​Insider Threats: What Is It & Best Practices