top of page
  • Writer's pictureDigiwuff

Taming the Cyber Beast: Your Go-To Guide to an Incident Response Form Template

When an incident occurs, keeping track of everything can be daunting, lets take a look at how to make this process a bit easier and standardized for each incident.

An Incident Response Form is a must-have tool for organizations to efficiently collect, document, and analyze information about a security incident. Paired with a Security Incident Response Plan, this template ensures a consistent and organized response to incidents. Let's dive into this life-saving template!


Incident Response Form Template:

  1. First Things First: Identifying the Incident

  2. Incident ID:

  3. Assign a unique identifier for the incident.

  4. Date and Time:

  5. Record when the incident occurred or was discovered.

  6. The Whistleblower:

  7. Note the name and contact information of the person reporting the incident.

  8. Victims of the Attack:

  9. List the systems, assets, or data affected by the incident.

  10. Painting a Picture: Describing the Incident

  11. Incident Type:

  12. Identify the type of incident (e.g., malware, data breach, etc.)

  13. Incident Summary:

  14. Provide a brief description of the incident, including events, impact, and potential consequences.

  15. Taking Stock: Initial Assessment

  16. Severity Level:

  17. Assess the potential impact on the organization (Low, Medium, High, or Critical).

  18. Potential Root Cause:

  19. Offer a preliminary analysis of the possible root cause.

  20. Immediate Actions:

  21. List the initial actions taken in response to the incident.

  22. Unraveling the Mystery: Incident Investigation

  23. Incident Response Team:

  24. Name the team members involved in the investigation.

  25. Investigation Findings:

  26. Detail findings, including root cause, vulnerabilities exploited, and damage extent.

  27. Evidence Collected:

  28. Catalog evidence collected during the investigation (logs, screenshots, forensic images, etc.)

  29. Bouncing Back: Incident Resolution and Recovery

  30. Resolution Actions:

  31. List actions taken to resolve the incident (patching, restoring systems, etc.)

  32. Recovery Actions:

  33. Detail actions taken to recover from the incident (restoring data, rebuilding systems, etc.)

  34. Learning from Experience: Post-Incident Review

  35. Lessons Learned:

  36. Highlight key lessons, successes, challenges, and areas for improvement.

  37. Future Prevention and Response Recommendations:

  38. Offer insights for preventing similar incidents and improving response capabilities.

  39. Seal of Approval: Sign-off

  40. Incident Response Team Lead:

  41. Obtain the name, title, and signature of the team lead.

  42. Date:

  43. Record the date of approval and sign-off.

This Incident Response Form Template is your organization's secret weapon to effectively document and manage security incidents in harmony with a Security Incident Response Plan. Embrace this template for a consistent and efficient response, and watch your organization continuously improve its incident response capabilities. Don't let the cyber beast catch you off-guard – tame it with this go-to guide!

1 view0 comments
bottom of page