When an incident starts, confusion is the biggest multiplier of damage. A written, rehearsed playbook helps your team move quickly and consistently.
1) Confirm and classify the event
Decide whether the event is a security incident, an IT outage, or a false alarm. Capture timestamp, affected users, systems, and observed behavior.
2) Contain first, investigate second
Isolate affected endpoints, disable compromised accounts, block malicious domains, and pause risky automation. Prioritize stopping spread over perfect diagnosis.
3) Preserve evidence
Export logs, retain alerts, and document changes made during response. This supports legal, insurance, and post-incident review requirements.
4) Establish a communication lane
Use one owner for technical updates and one owner for business communications. Keep messages factual: what happened, what is affected, what is next.
5) Recover in a controlled sequence
Restore critical business services first. Validate access controls before reconnecting systems. Monitor closely for recurrence during recovery windows.
6) Run a post-incident review
Document root cause, control gaps, timeline, and remediation owners. Convert lessons into concrete changes: hardening, monitoring, and user training updates.