Incident Response Readiness
IR plan development, tabletop exercises, and playbook creation to prepare for incidents.
Incident Response Readiness
An incident is not the time to design your response. Organisations that suffer the lowest breach costs and recover fastest are those that invested in incident response readiness before the crisis — with documented plans, tested playbooks, trained teams, and pre-established forensic and legal support relationships. Intelliroot's Incident Response Readiness service builds this capability systematically, using the NIST SP 800-61 incident handling lifecycle as its backbone.
We develop your complete IR programme: the overarching IR plan, playbooks for your top threat scenarios (ransomware, business email compromise, DDoS, insider threat, and data breach), tabletop exercise facilitation, and war gaming exercises using purple team methodology. Special attention is given to CERT-In 6-hour reporting readiness — ensuring your teams can detect, classify, and notify CERT-In within the mandatory window, with evidence collection practices that protect forensic integrity. Retainer-based IR support is available to provide emergency response capability without the overhead of full-time in-house capacity.
Why IR Readiness Cannot Wait for an Incident
First 24 Hours Determine Breach Cost
Organisations with a tested IR plan contain incidents significantly faster. Every hour of extended dwell time during an active incident increases breach cost, data exfiltration volume, and reputational damage exponentially.
CERT-In 6-Hour Reporting Is Mandatory
CERT-In Directions 2022 require reporting 20 categories of cybersecurity incidents within 6 hours of detection. Organisations that cannot meet this timeline face regulatory action — and most are not operationally ready without prior preparation.
Untested Plans Fail in Crisis
An IR plan that has never been exercised will fail when it matters most — teams default to improvisation, communication breaks down, and critical containment steps are missed. Tabletop exercises build the muscle memory that counts.
Cyber Insurers Require IR Preparedness Evidence
Cyber insurance underwriters increasingly require evidence of an IR plan, tested playbooks, and defined response processes as prerequisites for coverage. Readiness investments directly reduce premiums and improve policy terms.
What IR Readiness Covers
IR Plan Development
- Incident response plan (NIST SP 800-61 aligned)
- Incident classification and severity framework
- IR team roles and responsibilities (RACI)
- Escalation and notification procedures
- CERT-In 6-hour reporting workflow and templates
Playbook Development
- Ransomware response playbook
- Business Email Compromise (BEC) playbook
- DDoS response playbook
- Insider threat response playbook
- Data breach and exfiltration playbook
Exercises & Testing
- Tabletop exercise design and facilitation
- Purple team exercise (adversary simulation + SOC response)
- Crisis communications scenario testing
- After-action review and gap identification
- Annual exercise calendar development
Forensics & Communications
- Digital forensic evidence handling procedures
- Chain of custody documentation
- Crisis communications templates (media, regulator, customer)
- Legal hold procedures
- Retainer-based IR support options
Our IR Readiness Approach
IR Capability Assessment
Assess current IR capability: review existing plans, playbooks, tooling, team skills, and evidence of previous incident handling. Benchmark against NIST SP 800-61 and identify priority readiness gaps.
IR Plan & Playbook Development
Develop the overarching IR plan and threat-specific playbooks. Tailor each playbook to your technology environment, logging capability, and escalation structure. Include CERT-In reporting workflow with pre-approved notification templates.
Tabletop Exercise
Design and facilitate a realistic tabletop exercise based on a relevant threat scenario — typically ransomware or data breach. Walk the IR team through the scenario, testing decision-making, communication, and escalation processes under simulated pressure.
After-Action Review & Plan Refinement
Conduct a structured after-action review following the tabletop exercise. Document gaps, incorrect assumptions, and process failures. Refine the IR plan and playbooks based on lessons learned.
Programme Embedding & Retainer Options
Establish the annual exercise calendar, integrate IR plans with BCM and crisis management frameworks, and discuss retainer-based IR support options to ensure emergency response capability is available when needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Deliverables
Incident Response Plan
NIST SP 800-61-aligned IR plan covering preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication, recovery, and post-incident activities — with CERT-In 6-hour reporting workflow embedded.
Threat Scenario Playbooks
Five detailed response playbooks for ransomware, business email compromise, DDoS, insider threat, and data breach — each with step-by-step response actions, decision trees, and communication templates.
Tabletop Exercise Report
Exercise scenario documentation, participant observations, gap findings, and after-action recommendations — suitable for board reporting and cyber insurance submissions.
Digital Forensics Procedures
Evidence handling and chain of custody procedures, forensic readiness checklist, and legal hold guidance for use during and after a significant incident.
Crisis Communications Templates
Pre-approved communication templates for regulator notification, customer disclosure, media statements, and internal communications — reducing response time and error under crisis conditions.
Annual Exercise Calendar
Structured exercise programme covering tabletop, simulation, and purple team exercises across 12 months, aligned to your threat calendar and regulatory obligations.
Request a Security Assessment
Tell us about your environment and security objectives. We'll design a bespoke assessment and deliver a detailed proposal within 48 hours.