What is the first step in the incident response process?

The first step in the incident response process is preparation. This stage involves establishing the necessary policies, procedures, and resources to effectively respond to cybersecurity incidents. It encompasses training personnel, ensuring all stakeholders understand their roles, and setting up necessary tools and technologies that will be needed later in the incident response lifecycle.

Preparation lays the groundwork for a well-coordinated response. By developing an incident response plan, organizations can identify potential threats, understand their environments, and establish communication protocols. This proactive approach enables teams to act swiftly and efficiently when an incident does occur, as they will already have the framework and resources in place to manage the situation effectively.

In contrast, detection and analysis occurs once an incident has been identified, mitigation and recovery follow to handle the situation once it is underway, and post-incident analysis is performed after the event has been resolved to learn from the incident and improve future responses. Therefore, preparation is critical as it sets the stage for all subsequent actions in the incident response process.