IR – Incident Response

The RMF Control Family IR, Incident Response, addresses the need for organizations to have a plan in place to respond to security incidents.

Controls in the IR Security Control Family

The IR Security Control Family includes the following controls:

• IR-1: Incident Response Policy and Procedures: This control requires organizations to develop and implement an incident response policy and procedures. This policy should define the roles and responsibilities for incident response, and the process for responding to security incidents.
• IR-2: Incident Response Training: This control requires organizations to train employees on the incident response policy and procedures. This training should cover the roles and responsibilities of employees during an incident response event, and the procedures for responding to and recovering from a security incident.
• IR-3: Incident Response Testing: This control requires organizations to test their incident response plans on a regular basis. This testing should verify that the incident response plans are effective and that employees can execute the plans successfully.
• IR-4: Incident Response Plan: This control requires organizations to develop an incident response plan for each information system. The incident response plan should identify the essential functions of the information system, the recovery objectives, and the restoration priorities. The incident response plan should also address incident response roles, responsibilities, and assigned individuals with contact information.
• IR-5: Incident Monitoring: This control requires organizations to monitor their information systems for security incidents. This monitoring can be done using a variety of methods, such as security information and event management (SIEM) systems and log analysis tools.
• IR-6: Incident Reporting: This control requires organizations to report security incidents to the appropriate authorities, such as law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
• IR-7: Incident Response Assistance: This control requires organizations to have a plan in place to obtain assistance from third-party incident response organizations if needed.

Benefits of Implementing the IR Security Control Family

There are a number of benefits to implementing the IR Security Control Family, including:

• Improved security: The IR Security Control Family helps to improve the security of information systems by ensuring that organizations have a plan in place to respond to security incidents. This can help to reduce the impact of security incidents and to recover from security incidents more quickly.
• Reduced risk: The IR Security Control Family helps to reduce the risk of financial losses, reputational damage, and other negative consequences of security incidents. By having a plan in place to respond to security incidents, organizations can minimize the impact of those incidents.
• Compliance: The IR Security Control Family can help organizations comply with applicable laws and regulations, such as the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
• Increased trust: By implementing the IR Security Control Family, organizations can demonstrate to their customers and partners that they are taking steps to protect their data in the event of a security incident.

How to Implement the IR Security Control Family

To implement the IR Security Control Family, organizations should follow these steps:

1. Develop an incident response policy and procedures. This policy should define the roles and responsibilities for incident response, and the process for responding to security incidents.
2. Train employees on the incident response policy and procedures. This training should cover the roles and responsibilities of employees during an incident response event, and the procedures for responding to and recovering from a security incident.
3. Test the incident response plans on a regular basis to verify that they are effective and that employees can execute the plans successfully.
4. Develop an incident response plan for each information system. The incident response plan should identify the essential functions of the information system, the recovery objectives, and the restoration priorities. The incident response plan should also address incident response roles, responsibilities, and assigned individuals with contact information.
5. Implement a process to monitor information systems for security incidents. This monitoring can be done using a variety of methods, such as SIEM systems and log analysis tools.
6. Develop a plan to report security incidents to the appropriate authorities, such as law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
7. Develop a plan to obtain assistance from third-party incident response organizations if needed.