What is an incident?

A computer security incident is any event that has the potential to adversely affect the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of information or information systems. Incidents can be caused by a variety of factors, including:

• Malicious actors, such as hackers, phishers, and malware developers
• Accidents, such as human error or hardware failures
• Natural disasters
• Acts of terrorism

How to handle an incident

The NIST SP 800-61r2 Computer Security Incident Handling Guide provides a comprehensive framework for handling computer security incidents. The framework consists of four phases:

1. Preparation: This phase involves developing an incident response plan and team, and testing the plan on a regular basis.
2. Detection and analysis: This phase involves identifying and analyzing incidents to determine their scope and impact.
3. Containment, eradication, and recovery: This phase involves taking steps to stop the incident, remove any malicious actors or software, and restore affected systems to their original state.
4. Post-incident analysis: This phase involves reviewing the incident to identify lessons learned and improve the incident response process.

Information sharing and coordination

Information sharing and coordination are essential for effective incident handling. Organizations should share information about incidents with each other, as well as with law enforcement and other government agencies. This information can be used to identify trends, track attackers, and develop mitigation strategies.

Organizations can also coordinate their incident response efforts with other organizations. This can involve sharing resources, such as incident response experts and tools. It can also involve coordinating containment and eradication efforts.

Specific examples of information sharing and coordination

Here are some specific examples of information sharing and coordination in the context of computer security incident handling:

• Information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs): ISACs are non-profit organizations that provide a forum for organizations to share information about cyber threats and incidents.
• Government agencies: Government agencies, such as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), also play a role in information sharing and coordination. CISA provides resources and guidance to organizations on how to handle cyber incidents.
• Industry associations: Industry associations, such as the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), also play a role in information sharing and coordination. Industry associations provide a forum for organizations in a particular industry to share information about cyber threats and incidents.

Conclusion

Information sharing and coordination are essential for effective computer security incident handling. By sharing information and coordinating their efforts, organizations can better detect, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents.