Cyber Security Incident Report: Definition, and Importance

Countries like Russia, North Korea and China are constantly testing and trying to penetrate their rival's Cyber Space. Although around the world there were 2,365 Cyber-attacks in 2023 with 343,338,964 victims and 72% increase in data breaches since 2021 which is a record breaker number from previous years.   

Cyber Security Incident Reporting is the term which consists of the details of an attack that has happened. The report has the time of the Incident, systems that are affected, the type of attack that happened to inform the stakeholder and management of the company to start the remediation process and initiate triage. 

Table of Contents  

1) What is a Cyber Security Incident Report? 

2) The Importance of Cyber Security Incident Report 

3) Various Types of Cyber Incidents  

4) Steps to Create a Cyber Security Incident Report 

5) Why is it Important to Report a Suspected Cyber Security Incident Right Away? 

6) Conclusion 

What is a Cyber Security Incident Report? 

A Cyber Security Incident Report is a detailed document for the Cyber-attack and the steps that are needed to be performed by the IT and Cyber professionals to alleviate it. With the help of Incident Report Cyber professionals can immediately and efficiently confine the affected systems and networks and can perform recovery mode to recover the lost data.
 

The Incident Report can prevent occurring of this kind of attacks in the future because it takes almost 207 days or more than six months to detect the breach in the organisation’s system and it also reduce the damage that has occurred from the attack by giving the quick steps. 

The Importance of Cyber Security Incident Reporting 

Cyber Security Incident Report provides the exact data and the details of the attack which is needed by the IT and Cyber Security professionals to deal with the Incident and empowers the organisation to make better security policies to get prepared for the future. Here's why Cyber Security Incident Reports are essential:   

A Crucial Learning Resource  

The information that is collected during Cyber Security Incident can be used to prevent more dangerous Cyber-attacks in the future. With the learning resources the IT and Security teams will get help in improving and strengthening the Security standards that will result in reducing chances of more serious attacks. 

Enables Quick Detection and Response 

The main and first reason for this report on Cyber Security is its role in helping the organisation’s awareness of Cyber threats and attacks and helping them to increase their Security standards accordingly. The Cyber Security Incident Report includes all the details of the attack which will be very helpful for the company to response and to aware them for their future protection.  

Enhances Compliance Management 

The primary purpose of Cyber Security Incident Report is to alleviate and manage the impact of Incidents on the company and enhance the Security measures and ensure compliance with regulatory and legal requirements.  

Build Trust Among Stake Holders  

By starting the process of Cyber Security Incident Report that will show investors and stakeholders that your company is serious about the protection of the data, network and the digital assets. This will help in gaining the trust of potential investors and clients of the company.     

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Various Types of Cyber Incidents 

The various types of Cyber Incidents that typically an Incident Report covers are: 

Password Attacks  

Red Hat Hackers or Cyber criminals can manipulate the accounts to steal passwords to access the user's account without knowing and unlawfully. These hackers or the criminals use tricks and certain software's such as password cracking software, brute force attack, sniffing and the password guessing technique to gain the access of the user. 

Drive-By Attacks 

This is the type of attack in which the victim is redirected to another malicious website when they click on the link that is inserted or scripted in the trusted website. These links often have pop ups like “Winning a lottery” and “Dating Tips” etc.  

Man-in-the-Middle Attacks 

The Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks defines the involvement of intruder that accesses the private communication on a network and the Cyber criminal's setup this attack by gaining access to a network that is used for private communication, and this (MIMT) is the type of attack which is Imperceptible. 

Phishing Attacks    

This type of attack is done using false websites and emails to collect the information of the person or any organisation illegally and Phishing Attack majorly targets confidential and private information such as passwords and bank details. 

Malware 

Malware is software that penetrates machines through unauthorised installations and causes harm to them. It includes script injectors, worms, trojans and ransomware. Users may also be tricked to unknowingly install malware or malicious scripts when installing legal software's such as antiviruses and freeware. 

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Steps to Create a Cyber Security Incident Report 

Basically, while creating a Cyber Security Incident Report the straightforward procedure is to add five major Cyber Security Incidents in the report and typically the agencies and companies uses NIST or SANS frameworks. 

NIST Framework  

NIST Framework is the most popular framework that Cyber Security and IT professionals use to draft a Cyber Security Incident Report.  It is a flexible set of instructions and is designed to help the organisations manage and reduce the risks of Cyber-attacks. This majorly outlines four steps:  

1) Preparation 

2) Detection and Analysis 

3) Containment, Eradication, and Recovery 

4) Post-incident activity 

SANS Framework    

The SANS Framework is an important extension of NIST. It is the world's largest and most reputable Cyber Security research organisation. The SANS approach facilitates analysts to carefully assess Cyber-attack damage, act and help the organisation in recovery. This mainly outline the six steps of writing a Cyber Security Incident Report: 

1) Preparation  

2) Identification 

3) Containment 

4) Eradication 

5) Recovery 

6) Lessons Learned 

Preparation Phase  

A Cyber Security Incident Response Plan (CSIRP) should be established well in advance of any potential breaches. Proper planning prior to an incident enables organisations to respond to security events efficiently and swiftly.  

The response plan must be comprehensive, outlining the roles and responsibilities of each team member along with their contact information, ensuring that all participants are aware of their specific duties in the event of an incident. Each member of the team needs to understand their place in the team and what they need to do when a breach occurs.  

Incident prevention in the second step of the Preparation Phase which involves activities such as malware prevention, risk assessments and host security checks.  

Detection and Analysis   

The Analysis and Detection phase in a Cyber Security Incident Response Plan (CSIRP) is initiated as soon as an incident occurs, and the organisation needs to respond to the threat. This phase typically outlines the steps for analysing and verifying the incident, providing guidance on identifying and assessing the nature of the cyber-attack. 

It is not feasible to create a specific response plan for every type of security incident due to the variety of potential attack sources. To address this challenge, the NIST framework offers a set of common attack scenarios and prevention methods, which serve as a foundational guide for handling security events effectively. 

Containment, Eradication, and Recovery 

This is the main part of the Cyber Security Incident Report because everything that will be done in the counter of the attack will rotate around the Incident, eradicating the threat and recovering from the attack. NIST has provided the list of several criteria that can be used when determining containment strategy: 

1) The theft of resources or degree of damage 

2) Preserving the evidence  

3) Resources and time needed to make good strategy 

4) Service Availability  

5) Duration of solution  

Effectiveness of the strategy  

When working in this phase, collect as much evidence as you can about the attack and preserve it for external and internal use. It will be time consuming or even impossible in some cases, but the authorities can also work on identifying the attacking host.  

Post-Incident Review 

After the Incident has been stopped and the security measures have been implemented, this step involves debriefs to inform the IT, Cyber Security team and the organisation. It includes what caused the Incident, what happened and how it can be prevented in the future. The key points will be: 

1) Light on what has happened 

2) Assess the damage and severity   

3) Revisit the Cyber Security Incident Report 

4) Begin the notification process 

Cyber Security Incident Report Checklist 

Before wrapping up, note down the seven step checklist for an Incident Report in Cyber Security: 

1) Conduct an Enterprise-Wide Risk Assessment to identify the acerbity of Cyber-attacks in the major area and make sure the risk assessment is current and updated.  

2) Identify Key Team Members those need to be contacted during the Incident and Stakeholders need to be informed about what has happened during the time to ensure them.  

3) Security Incident Types that need to be there to define what counts as an Incident and who will be the InCharge of plan activation.  

4) Inventory Resources and Assets that needs to be already there for the security protection and implementation of all the plans at the time of Incident.  

5) Outlining the Sequence of Information Flow for a closer look at your assets and what are the that need to be taken to kick off different processes? 

6) Preparing a Variety of Public Statements with appropriate data breach notification ready in advance to reduce the reputational damage that is caused by the Security Incident.  

7) Preparing an Incident Event Log to keep an eye on all the steps that need to be taken during and after a Cyber Security Incident so to keep the efficiency of your response and obtain a lesson.  

These are the seven main checklist steps that need to be kept in mind for a Cyber Security Incident Response Plan or for the Incident Report. 

Conclusion 

Cyber Security Incident Reports are not just a reactive measure but a proactive strategy to strengthen digital defenses. They help organisations document breaches, analyse vulnerabilities, and create a knowledge base for preventing future incidents. Given the rapid rise in cyber-crimes maintaining a robust incident Reporting process is no longer optional; it’s a necessity. 

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