The NIST CSF Respond Function

The NIST CSF Respond Function: Actions regarding a detected cybersecurity incident are taken.
Source: NIST CSF 2.0

What is the NIST CSF Respond Function?

The Respond Function of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) highlights the necessity for businesses to build and maintain strong incident response capabilities. It further enables organizations to put policies in place for handling cybersecurity issues efficiently.

The goal of the Respond Function is to help organizations with:

• Planning responses to cybersecurity incidents proactively.
• Analyzing the incident path and performing root cause analysis.
• Communicating and collaborating with relevant stakeholders to lessen the impact of incidents.

It also highlights how crucial it is to preserve evidence for forensic examination and legal needs.

The Respond Function has four Categories.

Each Category has multiple Subcategories.

1. Incident Management (RS.MA)

The goal of the Incident Management Category is to manage cybersecurity issues in an efficient and well-organized manner. It includes methods and protocols for immediately handling events and minimizing their effects on security and organizational operations. Activities related to incident management include incident identification and triage, coordination of incident response, stakeholder communication and collaboration, threat containment, and elimination as well as post-event analysis and lessons learned.

The Subcategories of RS.MA are:

• RS.MA-01: The incident response plan is executed in coordination with relevant third parties once an incident is declared.
  This Subcategory underscores the importance of a coordinated response involving internal teams and external stakeholders when addressing cybersecurity incidents.

  The actionable steps below can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Activate your incident response plan upon the declaration of an incident, which outlines predefined procedures and roles for managing and mitigating incidents.
  • Notify and engage third parties to provide necessary assistance, expertise, and resources during incident response efforts.
  • Coordinate with external entities to gain crucial data on threat intelligence, forensic analysis, legal guidance, and public relations so that the incident's impact and scope is managed.
  • Establish formal agreements, protocols, and channels of communication with third parties in advance to streamline coordination and facilitate rapid response during cybersecurity incidents.

Log360 offers advanced SOAR capabilities that enable your team to accelerate threat mitigation through real-time alert notifications and automated incident response workflows.

• RS.MA-02: Incident reports are triaged and validated.
  This Subcategory illustrates the crucial steps involved in prioritizing cybersecurity issues and verifying incident legitimacy.

  The actionable steps below can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Triage, classify, and evaluate the incident report according to its immediacy, effect, and severity.
  • Verify the authenticity and legitimacy of the incident report, which includes validating the incident and possible impact on your assets.
  • Deploy resources to resolve high-priority issues swiftly and minimize the impact of security breaches and business operation interruptions.
  • Evaluate and upgrade the incident triage and validation process regularly to strengthen response capabilities over time and prepare for changing threats.

Log360 offers real-time security analytic capabilities that collect and analyze logs from various sources in your environment, including end-user devices, and it also provides insights in the form of graphs and intuitive reports that help spot security threats.

• RS.MA-03: Incidents are categorized and prioritized.
  To guarantee effective and fast incident response, this Subcategory highlights the necessity to identify and prioritize cybersecurity issues.

  The actionable steps below can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Locate and categorize events according to pre-established classifications, such as denial-of-service attacks, malware infections, and data breaches.
  • Make sure each category has distinct criteria and properties to ensure consistency and accuracy in the categorization process.
  • Rank events in order of their impact on your company, taking into account variables like threat intensity, data sensitivity, and system criticality.

Log360's advanced attack detection capabilities help your team prioritize threats that occur earlier in the attack chain by using the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

• RS.MA-04: Incidents are escalated or elevated as needed.
  This Subcategory emphasizes how crucial it is to have an efficient procedure in place for escalating cybersecurity events based on severity and possible impact on a company.

  The actionable steps below can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Deploy relevant escalation measures, such as contacting top management, deploying specialized incident response teams, or hiring outside cybersecurity specialists, depending on the problem's scope and nature.
  • Create and record explicit escalation procedures that include roles and duties, communication routes, and criteria for escalation.
  • Hold frequent training sessions and drills to guarantee that staff members are knowledgeable about the escalation procedure and are capable of implementing it in real-world situations.

Log360 offers extensive SOAR capabilities that allow your team to automate and accelerate threat response through standard workflows and streamline incident management by integrating with ticketing tools.

• RS.MA-05: The criteria for initiating incident recovery are applied.
  This Subcategory highlights the importance of having predefined triggers that guide the transition from incident containment and mitigation to recovery efforts.

  The actionable steps below can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Include factors such as the level of containment achieved, the severity of the incident, the impact on critical systems, and the availability of necessary resources for recovery in the criteria for initiating incident recovery.
  • Document and communicate the established criteria to relevant stakeholders and integrate them into the incident response plan.
  • Test and review the criteria regularly to ensure they remain effective and aligned with evolving threats and business needs.

2. Incident Analysis (RS.AN)

This Category advises organizations to methodically analyze cybersecurity incidents and determine their impact and source. To understand the type of incident and its extent, this Category places a strong emphasis on gathering and analyzing data from a variety of sources, including system logs, network traffic, and security alerts.

The Subcategories of RS.AN are:

• RS.AN-03: Analysis is performed to establish what has taken place during an incident and the root cause of the incident.
  This Subcategory entails looking into the specifics of the incident to comprehend the flow of events, impacted systems, and overall effect on the organization.

  The actionable steps below can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Compile all pertinent information from alarms, logs, and impacted systems to build an exhaustive event chronology.
  • Pinpoint the attacker's point of entry, the techniques the attackers employed, and the weaknesses they took advantage of to obtain unauthorized access.
  • Examine security rules, controls, and settings to find vulnerabilities that were exploited.
  • Obtain a variety of viewpoints into the event from cross-functional teams, including those from IT, security, and business groups.
  • Record the results of this research, including the underlying cause, explanatory variables, and any patterns or trends found.

Log360's integrated compliance management capabilities help your team understand the impact of incidents by conducting post-attack analysis and identifying patterns to stop attacks through log forensics.

• RS.AN-06: Actions performed during an investigation are recorded, and the records’ integrity and provenance are preserved.
  This Subcategory emphasizes the importance of documenting actions taken during a cybersecurity investigation and ensuring the integrity of those records.

The actionable steps below can help you comply with this Subcategory:

• Document every action performed during an incident investigation, which includes who performed the action, what was done, when it was done, and the rationale behind it.
• Maintain the integrity of the records, ensuring that they are protected from unauthorized alterations or deletions.
• Preserve the provenance of the records by maintaining a clear chain of custody, which provides a verifiable history of who had access to the records and what changes were made.

Log360's integrated compliance management capabilities provide tamper-proof log archive files to ensure the log data is secured for future forensic analysis, compliance, and internal audits.

• RS.AN-07: Incident data and metadata are collected, and their integrity and provenance are preserved.
  The Subcategory emphasizes the importance of properly handling data during a cybersecurity incident.

  These actionable steps can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Ensure the systematic collection and secure storage of all pertinent incident data, including both raw data and related metadata, to prevent tampering.
  • Provide context and validation for the source of the data by documenting the data's history and sources.
  • Uphold chain-of-custody protocols to monitor data access and modification.
  • Implement encryption, access restrictions, audit trails, and secure logging and monitoring technologies.

Log360 offers real-time security analytic capabilities that collect and analyze logs from various sources in your environment, including end-user devices, and it also provides insights in the form of graphs and intuitive reports that help spot security threats.

• RS.AN-08: An incident’s magnitude is estimated and validated.
  This Subcategory explains that when an incident occurs, it's crucial to estimate its magnitude to understand the potential damage it can cause to your organization’s assets, operations, and reputation.

  These actionable steps can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Estimate the magnitude by evaluating various factors such as the scope of the affected systems, the sensitivity of the compromised data, and the potential downtime or disruption to critical services.
  • Validate through further analysis and data gathering, ensuring that the assessment is accurate and based on real-time information. The validation process involves cross-checking with different data sources, consulting with stakeholders, and using automated tools to measure the incident's impact precisely.
  • Understand the incident's magnitude to aid in communication with external parties, such as regulatory bodies, customers, and partners. This can also support post-incident analysis by offering insights and help your organization improve its incident response plan.

3. Incident Response Reporting and Communication (RS.CO)

The goal of this Category is to provide explicit guidelines for reporting and communicating during cybersecurity events. To guarantee a coordinated and effective reaction to crises, it places a strong emphasis on prompt communication with internal stakeholders, including IT teams and executive management.

The Subcategories of RS.CO are:

• RS.CO-02: Internal and external stakeholders are notified of incidents.
  This Subcategory emphasizes the importance of notifying internal and external stakeholders about cybersecurity incidents while ensuring the integrity and provenance of the information shared.

  The actionable steps below can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Inform key stakeholders, such as IT and security teams, management, and legal and compliance departments, about the incident to coordinate an effective response and mitigate potential damage.
  • Notify affected parties, such as customers, partners, and regulators, as required by laws and contractual obligations.
  • Ensure that the data is accurate, unaltered, and reliable so stakeholders are not misled or misinformed.

Log360 offers advanced SOAR capabilities that enable your team to accelerate threat mitigation through real-time alert notifications and automated incident response workflows.

• RS.CO-03: Information is shared with designated internal and external stakeholders.
  This Subcategory shows the importance of timely and effective communication during a cybersecurity incident. It ensures that relevant information about the incident is promptly shared with the appropriate internal teams, such as IT, legal, and executive leadership.

  These actionable steps can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Establish effective communication channels and protocols in advance to ensure smooth information flow.
  • Ensure the shared information is accurate, clear, and tailored to the needs of each stakeholder.

4. Incident Mitigation (RS.MI)

The goal of this Category is to help organizations minimize damage from a cybersecurity incident and resume regular operations. It highlights how crucial it is to put plans and processes in place to contain risks, isolate compromised systems, and safeguard vital assets in the event of an emergency. For efficient incident response, organizations should create and uphold a thorough incident mitigation strategy with clearly defined roles, duties, and actions.

The Subcategories of RS.MI are:

• RS.MI-01: Incidents are contained.
  This Subcategory focuses on limiting the spread and impact of security incidents once they are detected.

  These actionable steps can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Develop and implement various containment strategies tailored to different types of incidents, such as malware infections, data breaches, or unauthorized access, to quickly isolate affected systems or segments of the network.
  • Isolate compromised systems or network segments to prevent lateral movement within the network.
  • Leverage firewalls, network segmentation, and access control lists to isolate compromised systems and contain incidents.
  • Deploy endpoint protection tools that can quarantine affected devices or processes to contain incidents at the device level.
  • Deploy solutions with real-time monitoring and threat detection capabilities to identify incidents early and implement containment measures.

Log360 offers advanced SOAR capabilities that enable your team to accelerate threat mitigation through real-time alert notifications and automated incident response workflows.

• RS.MI-02: Incidents are eradicated.
  The Subcategory focuses on the complete removal of the cause and impact of cybersecurity incidents from your organization's environment.

  These actionable steps can help you comply with this Subcategory:

  • Identify and eliminate the root cause of the incident to prevent recurrence.
  • Include actions such as removing malware, closing exploited vulnerabilities, disabling compromised accounts, and cleaning infected systems.
  • Enable collaboration between incident response teams, IT staff, and other stakeholders to ensure that all traces of the incident are thoroughly addressed.
  • Leverage tools such as SIEM solutions, antivirus software, endpoint detection and response solutions, and network forensics to identify and remove malicious artifacts.
  • Document the eradication process for learning from the incident and improving future response efforts.
  • Conduct follow-up scans and assessments to validate eradication.