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Incident Response Policy Free Template

Here is a detailed Incident Response Policy, aligned with ISO/IEC 27001:2022 (Controls A.5.25–A.5.27) and SOC 2 (CC7.3, CC7.4):

Here is a detailed Incident Response Policy, aligned with ISO/IEC 27001:2022 (Controls A.5.25–A.5.27) and SOC 2 (CC7.3, CC7.4):

1. Document Control

  • Document Title: Incident Response Policy

  • Document Identifier: POL-ALL-009

  • Version Number: v1.0

  • Approval Date: <23 June 2025>

  • Effective Date: <23 June 2025>

  • Review Date: <23 June 2026>

  • Document Owner: <Chief Information Security Officer>

  • Approved By: <Information Security Governance Committee>

2. Purpose

The purpose of this Incident Response Policy is to establish a structured and consistent approach for identifying, managing, and recovering from information security incidents affecting . The policy ensures that incidents are responded to efficiently, contain minimal damage, and are appropriately escalated, communicated, and documented to meet legal, operational, and contractual obligations.

This policy supports the requirements outlined in ISO/IEC 27001:2022 controls A.5.25 through A.5.27 and SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria CC7.3 and CC7.4. By implementing a repeatable incident response process, can reduce response times, minimize business disruption, preserve evidence, and learn from past incidents to strengthen its overall security posture.

3. Scope

This policy applies to all personnel, systems, networks, cloud platforms, applications, and third parties that support or handle 's data or services. It governs the full lifecycle of an incident, from detection to resolution and post-incident review.

Types of incidents covered include but are not limited to:

  • Unauthorized access or system compromise

  • Malware infections or ransomware attacks

  • Data breaches or information leaks

  • Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks

  • Insider threats or sabotage

  • Physical security breaches

  • Policy violations or misconfigurations

4. Policy Statement

shall maintain a documented and tested incident response capability to:

  1. Detect security events and analyze them to determine if they qualify as incidents.

  2. Contain and mitigate the impact of confirmed incidents.

  3. Eradicate the root cause and restore affected systems to a secure state.

  4. Notify relevant internal stakeholders and, where required, external parties such as regulators, customers, or law enforcement.

  5. Document all actions taken during incident handling.

  6. Review and improve controls and procedures after each significant incident.

Incident response must be initiated promptly upon detection or suspicion of a security incident. Escalation paths and responsibilities must be clearly defined and tested.

5. Safeguards

implements the following controls to enable effective incident response:

Control ID

Safeguard Description

IR-01

24/7 incident monitoring via Security Operations Center (SOC) and SIEM alerts

IR-02

Incident Response Plan (IRP) detailing roles, escalation matrix, and communication procedures

IR-03

Defined severity levels (P1–P4) to prioritize and categorize incidents

IR-04

Incident ticketing system integrated with workflows and audit logging

IR-05

Playbooks for common incident types (e.g., phishing, data breach, malware)

IR-06

Secure forensic tools for investigation and evidence preservation

IR-07

Post-incident review process and root cause analysis (RCA) requirement

IR-08

Annual incident response drills and tabletop exercises


Template

6. Roles and Responsibilities

  • CISO: Owns the incident response strategy and policy, approves major incident reports, and coordinates regulatory reporting.

  • Incident Response Team (IRT): Cross-functional team responsible for executing the incident response plan, including representatives from security, IT, legal, HR, and communications.

  • IT Operations: Supports containment, recovery, and implementation of corrective actions.

  • System Owners: Provide technical insights and support during incident analysis and remediation.

  • All Employees: Must immediately report suspected incidents via designated channels (e.g., security@company.com, hotline).

7. Compliance and Exceptions

Incident handling will be audited quarterly to verify:

  • Adherence to timelines

  • Completeness of documentation

  • Communication protocol compliance

  • Evidence retention

All exceptions to this policy must be risk-assessed and approved by the CISO. A mitigation plan must be documented, and temporary waivers reviewed quarterly.

8. Enforcement

Failure to comply with this policy, including failure to report or respond to an incident in a timely manner, may result in:

  • Disciplinary action in accordance with HR policy

  • Revocation of access privileges

  • Contractual penalties or termination (for vendors)

  • Regulatory reporting and legal action if negligence is involved

Each enforcement decision will be proportionate to the severity of the policy violation and documented accordingly.

9. Related Policies/Documents

  • POL-ALL-001: Information Security Policy

  • POL-ALL-008: Logging and Monitoring Policy

  • PRC-ALL-011: Incident Response Plan (IRP)

  • PRC-ALL-012: Forensic and Evidence Handling Guidelines

  • ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.25–A.5.27

  • SOC 2 Trust Criteria: CC7.3, CC7.4

10. Review and Maintenance

This policy will be reviewed at least annually or after any major incident to ensure its continued effectiveness. The Information Security Team is responsible for proposing revisions, which must be approved by the Information Security Governance Committee. Updated versions must be redistributed to all relevant personnel and incorporated into annual training.



[PARTY A NAME]

By: --------------------------------


Name: [NAME]


Title: [TITLE]


Date:-----------------------------

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