A Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) is a group of IT professionals that provides an organization with services and support surrounding the prevention, management and coordination of potential cybersecurity-related emergencies. The overarching goals of a CSIRT include responding to computer security incidents to regain control and minimize damage, providing or assisting with effective incident response and recovery and inhibiting computer security incidents from reoccurring
In general, an incident response team is responsible for protecting the organization from computer, network or cybersecurity problems that threaten an organization and its information. SecOps is followinguniversal model for incident response that has been in use for a long time is the “protect, detect and respond” model.
Even the most well-equipped and agile response processes are no match for preventing problems from occurring in the first place. To help keep attackers at bay, the CSIRT implements preventative measures, which can be divided into two main categories.
Tools used by the CSIRT scan the network 24/7 to flag any abnormalities or suspicious activities. Monitoring the network around the clock allows the CSIRT to be notified immediately of emerging threats, giving them the best chance to prevent or mitigate harm.
When monitoring tools issue alerts, it is the responsibility of the CSIRT to look closely at each one, discard any false positives, and determine how aggressive any actual threats are and what they could be targeting. This allows them to triage emerging threats appropriately, handling the most urgent issues first.
As soon as an incident is confirmed, the CSIRT acts as first responder, performing actions like shutting down or isolating endpoints, terminating harmful processes (or preventing them from executing), deleting files, and more. The goal is to respond to the extent necessary while having as small an impact on business continuity as possible.
As a proactive measurement, the CSIRT will work to actively scan your system for potential attack according to current cyber threat landscape. According to the intelligence, CSIRT will take necessary preventive measurement.
The CSIRT is responsible for collecting, maintaining, and regularly reviewing the log of all network activity and communications for the entire organization. This data helps define a baseline for “normal” network activity, can reveal the existence of threats, and can be used for remediation and forensics in the aftermath of an incident.
In the aftermath of an incident, the CSIRT is responsible for figuring out exactly what happened when, how and why. During this investigation, the CSIRT uses log data and other information to trace the problem to its source, which will help them prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.
Cybercriminals are constantly refining their tools and tactics—and in order to stay ahead of them, the CSIRT needs to implement improvements on a continuous basis. During this step, the plans outlined in the Security Road Map come to life, but this refinement can also include hands-on practices such as red-teaming and purple-teaming.
The CSIRT is responsible for regularly auditing their systems to ensure compliance with such regulations, which may be issued by their organization, by their industry, or by governing bodies. Acting in accordance with these regulations not only helps safeguard the sensitive data that the company has been entrusted with—it can also shield the organization from reputational damage and legal challenges resulting from a breach.
SecOps can help you build your own CSIRT in your organizations premise. SecOps will provide all kind of consultancy regarding its formation, human resource recruitement, operations and others relevant works.
Building a CSIRT is easy, but operating is something else. Its hard to find capable human resource to operate CSIRT. SecOps will lend you skilled personel to operate your CSIRT properly.