How can you test and validate your cybersecurity incident response and recovery plan regularly?

A cybersecurity incident response and recovery plan (CIRRP) is a set of procedures and guidelines that help your IT operations team respond to and recover from cyberattacks. A CIRRP should be aligned with your business objectives, risk appetite, and compliance requirements. However, having a CIRRP is not enough. You also need to test and validate it regularly to ensure its effectiveness, identify gaps, and improve your readiness. Here are some steps you can take to test and validate your CIRRP regularly.

1 Conduct a gap analysis

A gap analysis is a process of comparing your current CIRRP with your desired state, based on your business needs, industry standards, and best practices. A gap analysis can help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your CIRRP, as well as the opportunities and threats that may affect it. You can use various tools and frameworks, such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, the ISO 27001 standard, or the COBIT 5 framework, to conduct a gap analysis. You should involve all relevant stakeholders, such as IT staff, business units, senior management, and external partners, in the gap analysis process.

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Nick Lasenko, CISSP, BBA, CISA

Cybersecurity ◦ Privacy ◦ Critical Infra ◦ AI Anomaly Detection ◦ 3PRM ◦ VM ◦ IAM ◦ Architecture
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Watch out - some things are often misunderstood. 1. Be clear on the best practices/standards. NIST CSF doesn't provide IR guidance. Be clear on which NIST guidance you're relying on. 2. Plan = roadmap. The latest NIST guidance defines the IR plan as a roadmap. IR procedures are simply "procedures". 3. What is your objective / and who is/are your executive sponsor(s)? These will drive your analysis. See below for additional tips on specific frameworks.

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Aafaq Fazal

Software Engineer Turned IT Operations Expert | AWS | MS 365 Cloud Specialist | Driving Innovation
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To test and validate your cybersecurity incident response and recovery plan regularly, establish a comprehensive testing and simulation program. Conduct tabletop exercises and simulated cyber-attacks, involving cross-functional teams to evaluate their ability to execute the plan effectively. Use varying scenarios to test different aspects of the plan, such as data breaches, malware infections, or denial-of-service attacks. Review and update the plan based on lessons learned from each exercise.

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Prateek Shukla

Empowering Entrepreneurs and Businesses with Scalable and Robust Software Solutions | Founder | Young Entrepreneur Awardee | Speaker & Digital Transformation Consultant
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Testing and validating your cybersecurity incident response and recovery plan regularly is crucial to ensure its effectiveness in real-world scenarios. Some key steps and methods you can use to test and validate your incident response plan: • Tabletop Exercises • Simulation Drills • Penetration Testing • Red Team Exercises • Automation Testing • Scenario-Based Testing • Documentation Review • Communication Drills • Post-Incident Review • Regulatory Compliance Checks • Collaboration with External Entities • Continuous Training and Awareness

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2 Perform a tabletop exercise

A tabletop exercise is a simulation of a cyberattack scenario, where your IT operations team and other participants role-play their actions and decisions based on your CIRRP. A tabletop exercise can help you test the feasibility, clarity, and completeness of your CIRRP, as well as the communication, coordination, and collaboration among your team members and other parties. You should prepare a realistic and challenging scenario, based on your threat landscape, risk assessment, and business impact analysis. You should also define the objectives, scope, and rules of the exercise, and assign a facilitator and an evaluator to monitor and document the process and outcomes.

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Nick Lasenko, CISSP, BBA, CISA

Cybersecurity ◦ Privacy ◦ Critical Infra ◦ AI Anomaly Detection ◦ 3PRM ◦ VM ◦ IAM ◦ Architecture
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Key: Don't reinvent the wheel. 1. There are many best practice templates and standards out there. 2. If someone gives you tabletop materials/templates, check that they are aligned with best practices (e.g. NIST), and verify yourself. 3. Don't accept templates that reinvented wheel, and ignored best practice examples.

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3 Run a functional drill

A functional drill is a more advanced form of testing your CIRRP, where you actually execute some or all of the tasks and activities in your CIRRP in response to a simulated cyberattack. A functional drill can help you test the technical, operational, and organizational aspects of your CIRRP, as well as the performance, skills, and capabilities of your IT operations team and other resources. You should design a realistic and complex scenario, based on your actual IT environment, systems, and data. You should also establish the objectives, scope, and metrics of the drill, and assign a controller and an observer to oversee and evaluate the process and results.

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KELVIN CJ LIOW

Senior Manager, Security Risk & Governance at Financial Institution
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Run drills on critical systems and ensure the Board or Board’s independent technical rep is on hand to oversee the before, during and after.

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4 Review and update your CIRRP

After testing and validating your CIRRP, you should review and update it based on the feedback, findings, and lessons learned from the gap analysis, the tabletop exercise, and the functional drill. You should identify and prioritize the gaps, issues, and areas for improvement in your CIRRP, and develop and implement corrective and preventive actions. You should also document and communicate the changes and updates to your CIRRP to all relevant stakeholders, and ensure that they are aware of their roles and responsibilities. You should review and update your CIRRP at least annually, or whenever there are significant changes in your business environment, IT infrastructure, or threat landscape.

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5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Nick Lasenko, CISSP, BBA, CISA

Cybersecurity ◦ Privacy ◦ Critical Infra ◦ AI Anomaly Detection ◦ 3PRM ◦ VM ◦ IAM ◦ Architecture
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Valuable Tips - NIST guidance: 1. NIST SP 800-61 - Security Incident Handling 2. NIST SP 800-84 - Guide to Test, Training 3. NIST SP 800-34 - Contingency Planning Guide

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How can you test and validate your cybersecurity incident response and recovery plan regularly?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Conduct a gap analysis

2 Perform a tabletop exercise

3 Run a functional drill

4 Review and update your CIRRP

5 Here’s what else to consider

IT Operations Management

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How can you test and validate your cybersecurity incident response and recovery plan regularly?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Conduct a gap analysis

2 Perform a tabletop exercise

3 Run a functional drill

4 Review and update your CIRRP

5 Here’s what else to consider

IT Operations Management

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