How to Build an Incident Response Plan (With Steps)

Incident response refers to the structured process used to identify, investigate, and remediate security events that may threaten systems, data, or operations. To support this process, organizations rely on an incident response plan (IRP), which outlines the strategies, workflows, and responsibilities that guide each stage of managing an incident. A well-crafted IRP enhances cybersecurity resilience, supports business continuity and disaster recovery, and helps ensure threats are detected, contained, and resolved quickly.

In this guide, we’ll explore what incident response planning is, break down its core components, learn how to build an incident response plan, review essential incident response technologies, and highlight best practices for effective planning.

Let’s start the discussion by understanding what an incident response plan is and why it matters.

What is an incident response plan?

An incident response plan is a structured framework that outlines how an organization prepares for, detects, responds to, and recovers from cybersecurity incidents. It serves as a strategic guide that brings together policies, technical procedures, and communication protocols to ensure incidents are handled swiftly and efficiently. By clearly defining each stage of the response process, an IRP helps organizations reduce uncertainty during high-pressure situations and maintain consistency across different types of security events.

At its core, incident response planning ensures that each team member is clear about what they need to do during a security event, enabling a coordinated and effective response. This structured approach typically incorporates incident severity classification, escalation paths, and actionable playbooks tailored to specific threats such as malware outbreaks, phishing attacks, or insider misuse. It also outlines requirements for documentation, evidence handling, and compliance obligations, helping organizations meet regulatory standards while managing risk efficiently.

With the definition established, let’s have a look at the critical components that make an IRP effective.

Core components of an incident response plan

An incident response plan is built on four core components that establish structure, clarity, and consistency throughout the incident lifecycle. These four components are:

• Defined roles and responsibilities
• Incident classification levels
• Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Playbooks

Let’s understand each one in detail.

Defined roles and responsibilities

Clearly stated roles and responsibilities ensure that every team member understands what is expected of them before, during, and after a cybersecurity incident. This typically includes incident handlers, forensic analysts, communication leads, legal advisors, and executive decision-makers. By defining responsibilities in advance, organizations minimize confusion, accelerate response times, and promote seamless coordination across technical and non-technical teams.

Incident classification levels

Incident classification levels help organizations categorize security events based on severity, impact, and urgency. These levels—often ranging from low-risk anomalies to critical system compromises—guide how incidents are escalated, who must be notified, and how quickly teams must respond. Proper classification ensures that resources are prioritized efficiently, and that high-impact incidents receive immediate attention to protect operations and maintain business continuity.

Standard operating procedures (SOPs)

SOPs provide step-by-step instructions for handling incidents consistently and effectively. They outline specific actions to ensure the response process is repeatable and well-documented. SOPs support compliance, reduce human error, and help responders follow best practices even under pressure. They also serve as a bridge between incident response planning and operational execution.

Playbooks

Playbooks offer actionable, scenario-specific guidance for common threats such as ransomware, phishing attacks, DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) events, and insider threats. Each playbook details the technical steps, communication procedures, and decision points required to address a particular incident type. These targeted workflows accelerate response efforts, reduce downtime, and support both cybersecurity resilience and disaster recovery readiness.

After identifying its major components, the next step is to learn the step-by-step process of building an incident response plan.

How to build an incident response plan

Incident response planning begins with establishing a standardized process for handling confirmed malicious cybersecurity incidents. This process is typically structured around five key phases—preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication and recovery, and post-incident activities. Let’s understand each phase in detail.

Preparation

Preparation acts as the foundation of effective incident response planning and ensures that teams can act quickly, efficiently, and consistently when a security event occurs. During this phase, organizations focus on establishing the resources, documentation, and communication workflows needed to support smooth execution of the IRP.

Preparation activities could include:

• Updating the alert roster regularly
• Maintaining a fly-away or jump kit
• Working with current network, system, and application baselines
• Updating network diagrams, port mappings, protocol documentation, and application inventories
• Ensuring security of IR tools and communications

By establishing these foundational components, organizations create the conditions necessary for faster detection, smoother coordination, and more effective containment during later phases of the incident response lifecycle. This level of preparedness strengthens overall response capability and supports operational continuity when incidents occur.

Detection and analysis

The most challenging task in the IR process is accurately detecting and analyzing incidents. We can detect incidents through automated capabilities such as network or host-based IDPS (Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems) or manual means, such as suspicious activity reported by the users.

For example, imagine a scenario where someone recently stole $81 million from a foreign central bank that uses the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system and falls under the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (New York Fed).

This incident was detected when an employee at New York Fed came across a typo. The hackers indicated one of the transfers should go to Skalka Foundation, but they misspelled “foundation” as “fundation”.

Effective detection requires not only the right tools but also skilled analysts who can interpret indicators and quickly determine the appropriate response.

Detection activities could include:

• Profiling networks and systems
• Understanding normal behaviors
• Performing event correlation

Numerous news articles report the lack of profiling or understanding of normal behaviors by the New York Fed officials.

The normal behaviors were:

• The foreign central bank had issued payment instructions to New York Fed fewer than 2 per day for the last eight months
• None of these payments were to an individual

The concerning behaviors were:

• The hackers sent 35 payment instructions in one weekend
• Most of these payments were to individuals

The hackers successfully sent four payment instructions worth $81 million to offshore false individual accounts.

Containment

Containment is an important step in IR that involves decision-making to prevent further damage or gain knowledge about the attacker’s activity. It involves selecting and executing immediate actions that isolate affected systems while preserving operational continuity. Some teams may consider delayed containment, where they briefly monitor an attacker before acting, but this approach is not recommended and is typically only used by organizations with highly advanced security teams.

Key containment activities could include:

• Redirecting the attacker to a sandbox
• Capturing forensic images for legal evidence
• Closing specific ports and services
• Discussing legal implications

Organizations should develop appropriate strategies with criteria documented clearly to facilitate decision-making.

Criteria could include:

• Service availability (e.g., service provided to external parties)
• Time and resources needed to implement the strategy
• Effectiveness of the strategy

In our scenario, the attackers strategically timed their operation to create communication delays. When the New York Fed attempted to contact officials at the foreign central bank, it was a weekend in that country, and no staff were available. Later, when the foreign central bank discovered the fraudulent transfers, it was a weekend in New York, and the Fed was closed—further slowing coordination and response.

Both organizations did not have a containment strategy with appropriate service availability criteria. But since then, the Fed has started a 24-hour hotline for emergency calls from central banks around the world.

Eradication and recovery

This step starts with eradicating or removing all traces of the attacker’s presence—eliminating malicious files, closing exploited vulnerabilities, and reinforcing affected systems to reduce the risk of future compromise. Once these threats have been addressed, recovery efforts begin, which involve restoring systems from backups, validating their integrity, and closely monitoring for any signs of reinfection. Together, these steps ensure that operations can return to normal safely and with confidence.

Some eradication activities could include:

• Re-imaging affected systems
• Replacing compromised files with clean versions
• Installing patches
• Changing passwords
• Monitoring for adversary re-entry
• Discussing legal implications

Some recovery activities could include:

• Tightening perimeter security by updating firewall and boundary router access control lists
• Validating that the eradication and recovery was successful

After successfully eradicating the adversary, we may have to continue with detection and analysis activities to observe any re-entry. If no new adversary activity is found, we can proceed with the remaining recovery steps and fully restore normal operations.

In our scenario, eradication activities are not fully known. But to recover $81 million, the foreign central bank contacted the second foreign bank where the money was transferred. Unfortunately, the second foreign bank was closed due to New Year celebrations. Also, under the banking laws of the second foreign country, funds cannot be frozen until a criminal case is lodged. In the meantime, the stolen $81 million disappeared into the second country’s casino industry, which is exempted from anti-money laundering laws.

Post-incident activities

The objective of this phase is to document the incident, share it with others, and apply the lessons learned to improve the overall security posture of the organization.

Post-incident activities could include:

• Emulating adversary TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures) in close coordination with the blue team to ensure the effectiveness of the implemented countermeasures
• Conducting lessons-learned meetings
• Finalizing the IR report

Before drafting the final report, teams typically perform a comprehensive review of all actions taken during the incident—verifying timelines, correlating evidence, and confirming that all remediation steps were completed. This ensures that the report is accurate, actionable, and reflective of the true scope of the incident.

Incident response report

The final IR report should capture lessons learned, initial root cause, problems executing courses of action, and any missing policies and procedures. The report should ideally start with an executive summary and include a separate section with technical details and images.

Reporting formats and methods vary by organization. Reporting activities could include:

• Providing artifacts
• Closing tickets
• Conducting follow-ups
• Publishing CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) responsibly
• Producing the final report

These reporting activities not only help close the incident loop but also ensure that lessons are shared, compliance requirements are met, and the team is better prepared for future threats. Proper documentation and reporting reinforce accountability and provide valuable insights for strengthening the organization’s cybersecurity resilience.

Now that we’ve discussed how to build an incident response plan, let’s review some commonly used incident response technologies.

Incident response technologies

Modern incident response planning relies on a range of security technologies that help organizations detect threats early, investigate incidents efficiently, and automate key response actions. These tools form the backbone of many incident response strategies and play a vital role in supporting business continuity and disaster recovery efforts. Let’s check out some of the most popular ones.

SIEM

SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solutions allow us to collect, aggregate, and correlate logs from systems, applications, and network devices to provide centralized visibility across the environment. They identify suspicious patterns, generate alerts, and support real-time monitoring. SIEM platforms help incident responders detect threats sooner, analyze activity more effectively, and maintain a clear audit trail for compliance. As a central hub for event data, SIEM tools form a critical foundation for incident response planning.

EDR

EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) tools monitor endpoints—such as laptops, servers, and mobile devices—for indicators of compromise. They provide deep visibility into endpoint activity, enabling responders to detect malicious behaviors, isolate infected devices, and analyze attack techniques. EDR solutions typically include threat hunting, forensic data collection, and automated remediation features, making them essential for mitigating threats quickly and preventing widespread operational disruption.

XDR

XDR (Extended Detection and Response) expands upon EDR capabilities by integrating multiple security layers, including network, cloud, identity, and email security. This unified approach provides broader threat visibility and correlates signals across environments, improving detection accuracy. By consolidating security data into a centralized platform, XDR reduces complexity and enhances response coordination—supporting faster mitigation and contributing to a more resilient overall security posture.

SOAR

SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) solutions automate repetitive response tasks, streamline workflows, and coordinate actions across multiple security tools. They enable organizations to create automated playbooks for incident triage, containment, and communication, reducing manual effort and accelerating overall response times. SOAR strengthens incident response planning by ensuring consistent execution of procedures and enabling teams to focus on high-priority investigations rather than routine tasks.

Finally, let’s go through some of the best practices for creating a resilient and adaptable incident response strategy.

Best practices for incident response planning

Organizations should adopt these best practices for efficient incident response planning:

• Maintain up-to-date documentation: Keep all policies, procedures, and contact lists current to ensure the response team has accurate guidance during an incident.
• Conduct regular training and exercises: Use simulations, tabletop exercises, and hands-on drills to ensure teams can execute the incident response plan confidently.
• Develop threat-specific playbooks: Create focused playbooks for common threats—such as ransomware, phishing, and insider attacks—to streamline and standardize response actions.
• Establish secure communication channels: Ensure the response team has reliable, secure methods for sharing sensitive information during an incident.
• Use metrics to measure performance: Track indicators such as detection time, containment time, and recovery duration to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan.

Conclusion

In this guide, we’ve discussed incident response planning in detail, covering what it is, its core components, and its key technologies. We learned how to build an incident response plan step-by-step, including preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication and recovery, and post-incident activities. Besides that, we also outlined some of the best practices that will help organizations plan better and enhance their overall security posture.

With cyber threats continually evolving, organizations must treat incident response planning as an ongoing commitment rather than a one-time project. This means regularly reassessing risks, updating procedures, and adapting to new attack techniques as they emerge. Consistent refinement, testing, and integration across teams will strengthen overall preparedness, ensure effective coordination during real incidents, and help minimize the operational and financial impact of future security events.

If you want to learn more about incident response, check out the Certified in Cybersecurity - CC course on Codecademy.

Frequently asked questions

1. What is incident response?

Incident response is a systematic approach for identifying, managing, and recovering from cybersecurity events to minimize operational, financial, and reputational damage.

2. What is the main objective of an incident response plan?

The main objective of an incident response plan is to provide a predictable and efficient approach to managing incidents, ensuring timely mitigation and supporting business continuity.

3. What are the key steps of an IR plan?

The five key steps of an IRP include:

• Preparation: Establishes the tools, policies, teams, and procedures needed to respond effectively to incidents.
• Detection and analysis: Identifies potential threats, validates alerts, and determines the scope and impact of the incident.
• Containment: Limits the spread of the threat, preserves evidence, and keeps essential operations running without interruption.
• Eradication and recovery: Removes threats, addresses vulnerabilities, and restores affected systems while ensuring they operate securely.
• Post-incident activities: Reviews lessons learned, updates documentation, and improves overall incident response readiness.

4. How often should an IR plan be updated or tested?

Most organizations test and review their IR plans at least annually or whenever major operational changes occur. High-risk industries may require more frequent testing.

5. What tools can you use for incident response?

Some common incident response tools include:

• SIEM (Security Information and Event Management)
• EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response)
• XDR (Extended Detection and Response)
• SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response)