Essential IR Plan Components
1. Roles and Responsibilities
- IR team members and titles
- Authority and escalation chain
- Out-of-hours contact information
- External contacts (law enforcement, forensics firms)
- Communication authority
2. Detection and Assessment
- How to identify ransomware
- Who to notify first
- Initial assessment procedures
- Severity classification
- Documentation requirements
3. Containment Procedures
- System isolation steps
- Network isolation procedures
- Account lock procedures
- Communication with affected departments
- Preserving evidence
4. Recovery Procedures
- Backup restoration process
- System rebuild procedures
- Testing before production use
- Phased recovery timeline
- Validation of recovery
5. Communication Plan
- Internal notification procedures
- Customer notification timeline
- Regulatory notification requirements
- Media/public communication
- Executive briefings
6. Forensics and Investigation
- Evidence preservation
- External forensics firm contacts
- Law enforcement coordination
- Timeline reconstruction
- Root cause analysis
7. Post-Incident Actions
- Security improvements
- Policy updates
- Staff training refresher
- Lessons learned documentation
- Insurance claims
Implementation Requirements
Document in writing - No verbal-only procedures Test regularly - Tabletop exercises, simulations Assign ownership - Clear accountability Communicate to team - Everyone knows their role Update annually - Refresh for organizational changes Legal review - Ensure compliance with regulations
Decision Framework
Should you pay ransoms?
Considerations:
- Does insurance cover it?
- Can you recover from backups?
- What's total cost (ransom vs. recovery vs. downtime)?
- Are you subject to regulations prohibiting payment?
- Will payment make you target again?
- What's the criminal enterprise risk?
Pre-decision: Consult legal, insurance, law enforcement BEFORE attack
Conclusion
A comprehensive IR plan enables rapid, organized response minimizing ransomware damage. Organizations with tested plans recover 50% faster and suffer significantly less financial impact than those responding ad-hoc.
