What is the main objective of an Incident Response Plan?

The main objective of an Incident Response Plan is to recover from a cybersecurity incident effectively. Such a plan outlines the structured approach an organization should take when responding to and managing incidents, ensuring that they can limit damage, recover operations, and restore normal services as quickly as possible. A well-designed incident response plan includes preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication, recovery, and post-incident activities.

This focus on effective recovery is critical because incidents can vary in severity and impact, and how an organization responds determines the extent of damage and the speed at which they can return to regular operations. The plan helps ensure that appropriate actions are taken swiftly and effectively to mitigate the consequences of an incident.

While enhancing employee training on security is important for prevention, and operational cost management considerations are relevant to overall business efficiency, the primary goal of an Incident Response Plan is centered around managing and recovering from incidents after they occur. Eliminating all potential threats is not realistic, making it necessary to have a plan to respond to those that do materialize.