After a cyberattack is detected, a company executes its Incident Response (IR) plan, which is a structured, four-phase process: Containment of the threat, Eradication of the attacker’s presence, Recovery of normal operations, and a Post-Incident review to learn from the event.

The moments after a cyberattack is discovered are a chaotic and high-pressure time. For a business here in Rawalpindi or anywhere in the world, the actions taken in these critical hours and days will determine whether the incident is a manageable crisis or a company-ending catastrophe. This is what happens, or what should happen, according to a well-structured Incident Response plan, often based on the widely adopted NIST framework.

Phase 1: Containment – Stopping the Bleeding

The immediate, overriding priority is to stop the attack from spreading and causing further damage. This is the emergency first aid of cybersecurity.

  • The Goal: To isolate the affected systems and prevent the attacker from moving laterally to other parts of the network.
  • Key Actions:
    • Isolating Systems: The Incident Response team will immediately disconnect compromised computers or servers from the network. In a major ransomware attack, this could involve shutting down entire network segments or even the company’s primary internet connection.
    • Preserving Evidence: Before wiping any systems, the team will take forensic images (perfect bit-for-bit copies) of the affected machines. This is a critical step for the later investigation, as it preserves the evidence of the attacker’s activities.
    • Identifying the Attacker’s Foothold: The team works to quickly understand how the attacker is maintaining access and what accounts they have compromised.

Phase 2: Eradication – Removing the Threat

Once the incident is contained, the next step is to methodically find and remove every trace of the attacker and their malicious tools from the network.

  • The Goal: To ensure the attacker has been completely ejected and has no way to get back in.
  • Key Actions:
    • Malware Removal: Using advanced security tools, the team will identify and remove all malicious software.
    • Hardening Systems: In many cases, it is not enough to just remove the malware. The affected systems are often completely wiped and rebuilt from a known-good, clean backup or a fresh installation.
    • Patching Vulnerabilities: The team will identify the initial vulnerability that the attacker exploited to get in (e.g., an unpatched server) and immediately apply the necessary security patches to close the door.
    • Resetting All Credentials: It is standard practice to assume that all passwords may have been compromised. The team will force a password reset for all employees and service accounts.

Phase 3: Recovery – Restoring Normal Operations

With the threat eradicated, the focus shifts to safely and securely bringing the affected systems back online and restoring normal business operations.

  • The Goal: To return to a state of business-as-usual as quickly and safely as possible.
  • Key Actions:
    • Restoring from Clean Backups: This is where a robust backup strategy pays off. Data and systems are restored from the most recent, verified-clean backups.
    • Phased Restoration: Services are often brought back online in a phased, deliberate manner, starting with the most critical systems.
    • Enhanced Monitoring: As systems are restored, they are placed under a state of heightened monitoring. The security team watches them closely for any sign of the attacker’s return or any other unusual activity.

Phase 4: Post-Incident Activity – The “Lessons Learned” Review

This is arguably the most important phase for the long-term health of the organization. The crisis is over, and now it’s time to learn from it.

  • The Goal: To conduct a thorough post-mortem of the incident to understand the root cause and to improve the company’s security posture and its Incident Response plan for the future.
  • Key Actions:
    • Root Cause Analysis: The team produces a final, detailed report on the incident. What was the exact timeline? Which vulnerabilities were exploited? How did our defenses fail? What did we do well?
    • Improving Security Controls: Based on the findings, the company will make strategic investments to strengthen its defenses, such as implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) if it was not already in place.
    • Updating the IR Plan: The Incident Response plan itself is updated to incorporate the lessons learned from the real-world event.
    • Regulatory and Legal Reporting: This phase also includes completing all required notifications to regulatory bodies (as required by data protection laws in Pakistan and abroad) and communicating transparently with affected customers.

This structured process turns a chaotic attack into a manageable, and ultimately educational, event, allowing a business to not just recover, but to emerge stronger and more resilient than before.