Incident management is essential for every organization that uses digital systems. It maximizes security and minimizes service interruption or changes to normal business operations are halted.
Cybersecurity is at the heart of incident management. When you implement the necessary security measures in your organization, you can keep cyber attackers at bay and eliminate the risks of data leakages.
Security incidents are on the rise. Last year, 37% of global companies reported that they were victims of some form of cyber-attack. This number is only increasing by the year as hackers become more intelligent and use more advanced tools to access the personal information that is stored by various companies.
In this article, we’re going to cover what incident management is and why it’s important for your business.
What is Incident Management?
Incident management refers to the process of restoring normal service operations after a security incident has occurred. An effective incident management plan details the steps that an organization takes to protect its data following disruption to normal operations.
The key steps of every incident management plan include:
- Reporting the incident and logging it into the necessary system (usually via a ticket system)
- Notifying all of those affected by the incident, including employees, clients, customers, and stakeholders
- Assigning the necessary team of experts to manage the alert and ensure it doesn’t escalate
- Determining how serious the incident is and classifying it accordingly
- Analyzing why the incident has occurred and finding a solution to the problem
- Resolving the incident and closing the ticket
- Defining the steps that must be taken if the incident reoccurs, and informing every team member of these steps.
Why is Having an Incident Management Plan Important?
IT incidents can affect a business at any time. Often, they occur when they are least expected, and can severely disrupt daily operations.
When a security incident occurs in an organization, it can be detrimental. It can cause the loss or alteration of important data and may lead to the wrong people being able to access this data.
Security incidents can lead to temporary disruption and loss of data. In severe cases, they can cause long-term or permanent damage to a system that disrupts the organization as a whole.
The ability to detect and resolve security breaches as quickly as possible will minimize the potential financial and structural damage. Although an organization may not be able to prevent every cyber-attack, having an effective plan in place to deal with these incidents can make all the difference to their ability to recover from downtime and security breaches.
When an IT incident occurs, organizations can fall back on their incident management plan. If they don’t already have a management plan in place, it can take a lot longer for them to recover.
The ability of an organization to bounce back after a technology-related issue can significantly impact its success. Without an effective incident management plan, the business is at constant risk of failure following a security breach.
An incident management plan requires businesses to constantly monitor their IT systems and databases. They must constantly assess and analyze their existing systems and operations to identify potential weak spots that could be targeted by cyber attackers.
How Can Effective Incident Management Improve Your Cybersecurity?
The main aim of an incident management plan is to mitigate cyber-attacks and reduce the negative impacts of security breaches if and when they do occur.
Once a security breach has occurred, an incident management plan can help organizations to identify similar breaches in the future before they occur. Organizations can build systems to rapidly identify IT security threats and eliminate them before they can cause too much damage.
Formulating a great management response to IT incidents can instill confidence in employees and teams in the workplace. It also creates a positive brand reputation and keeps clients, customers, and stakeholders satisfied and confident in the organization.
If your business doesn’t currently have an incident management plan, there’s no better time than now to create one. Not only is it a vital part of your cybersecurity but it’s also essential for the overall success and growth of your organization.
