What is Incident Response?

Every major compliance framework requires organizations to have a documented and tested incident response plan because the question is not whether a security incident will occur but when. The typical incident response lifecycle follows the NIST framework: Preparation, Detection and Analysis, Containment, Eradication and Recovery, and Post-Incident Activity. Under GDPR, incidents involving personal data breaches must be reported to the supervisory authority within 72 hours. HIPAA requires notification to affected individuals within 60 days for breaches of unsecured PHI. SOC 2 auditors verify that incident response plans exist, are communicated to relevant personnel, and have been tested through tabletop exercises or simulations. The post-incident review is equally important — organizations must document lessons learned and update controls to prevent recurrence, creating a continuous improvement loop that strengthens the overall security posture.