A data breach response plan. What is it, and why do you need one?
What is a data breach response plan?
A data breach response plan is a tool for managing the impact of a breach. It also shows the roles of every tech security staff.
Also, it detects breach scenarios. And it gives a clear guide on how to respond to a data breach.
Why do you need a data breach response plan?
There are many reasons why you need a response plan for a data breach incident.
Obedience to the privacy act.
A company must obey the privacy act of a state. This act protects personal information from the following:
- misuse and identity theft
- interference and loss
- unauthorized access
Protection of a company’s assets.
Data is the most important asset of a company. Losing and improper exposure of data will cause harm to a company. Especially in the areas of:
- reputation
- fines
- legal bills
- loss of client
Having a data breach response plan will help you lessen the effects of a data breach. Also, you can keep a high standard of service to your customers.
What are the elements of a data breach response plan?
An effective response plan includes:
- Definition of the breach or incident
- List of team members
- Action steps
- Follow-up procedures
Define the breach.
Before developing the response plan, you need to know the details of the breach.
Was it a phishing email? Then, it may have little to no impact on your company.
Was it a ransomware infection? Or a denial of service attack? Then, it may cause a serious effect on your company’s operations.
Form a response team.
After defining the breach, you need to get help from the experts. They will carry out your plan effectively.
Also, they should be part of your trusted staff. Why? They are more familiar with your business’ operations.
Moreover, a response team may include one representative from the following departments:
- Human resource
- Communications
- IT or data security
- Legal team
- Risk management
- Senior Management
Furthermore, you can engage with a forensic partner. They can conduct an in-depth investigation of the breach. Also, they can suggest how you can stop data loss.
Besides, do not wait for a data breach to happen before you connect with these experts. You should form a team before a breach. So when an incident happens, you are already prepared.
Plan your action steps.
You should give step-by-step procedures to your response team. Why?
Each member has a different role. And it should reflect the field they are master.
For example, a data security staff is responsible for determining how the breach happened. Also, the risk management staff is responsible for alerting the insurer of cyber policies.
Thus, planning your action steps will help you analyze the breach quickly. Also, you can easily know the lapses on your part. Thus, you can make the necessary improvements to prevent the breach from happening again.
Conduct a follow-up.
After containing the impact of the data breach, it is vital to make a follow-up session with your team.
You can make a run-through of all the steps you took. Also, you can summarize the lessons you learned during the response.
