The black market for payment cardholder data, customer information, intellectual property, confidential documents, and other forms of sensitive information is a multi-billion dollar industry.

The market is so lucrative that hackers and organized criminals are constantly attacking networks in search of huge payoffs. Gone are the days of "script kiddies" and basement enthusiasts attempting to penetrate corporate networks just to see if it could be done. Organized criminals are fully entrenched in the business of cyber crime, constantly attacking your network and hoping to convert your organization's valuable digital assets into black market commodities.

To protect your organization against the impact of a cyber attack, you must have security mechanisms in place to reduce risk and be prepared to respond to an attack when it occurs. Each crisis event will involve unique factors that will affect how the initial and often inexperienced first‐line responders or ad hoc response groups respond, as well as how the follow‐on and typically predefined and experienced incident and crisis management teams (CMTs) will manage to an event.

• Resourced.: The response guidelines should have the correct resources available to allow plans to be implemented, in terms of education for users as well as the materials needed to implement responses.
• Supported.: Response guidelines should be supported by all management levels in order to ensure that activities have prior buy‐in and that consistent approaches are in place.
• Rehearsed.: Ideally, response measures will have been practiced prior to an emergency so that managers and users are familiar and comfortable with the guidelines and requirements.
• Integrated.: Integration both within the company and with external agencies is critical to ensure that response guidelines are effective. Technological integration is also required.
• Leveraged.: Response guidelines should seek to leverage organic and external resources and capabilities in order to augment a user group's capabilities and capacity.
• Flexible.: Response guidelines should be inherently flexible in order to meet the unique factors that invariably accompany each crisis event. They should guide, rather than be rigidly enforced.
• Measured.: Response guidelines should provide a calm, measured, and mature response to crisis events, reducing panic or knee‐jerk reactions.
• Clear.: Response guidelines should be clear and easy to follow—meeting the knowledge, capabilities, and experiences of a wide and diverse user audience.
• Pragmatic.: Response guidelines should be pragmatic and realistic. They should provide the right level of support to resolve a problem—simplicity and realism are vital.

The best way to mitigate the impact of an attack is to partner with ISGRM. Our experienced Incident Response Management Consultants are a phone call away; they know how to stop an attack, identify and remove the source of a breach, and can help mitigate the financial and reputational impacts that will ensue. Because the effects of a security incident can reverberate beyond the initial attack, ISGRM also provides experts in digital forensics, eDiscovery and litigation support to ensure the most favorable outcome possible for your organization following a cyber attack.

ISGRM's expert consultants are available on a moment's notice, 24/7, to any organization that has experienced a data compromise or believes it's the victim of an ongoing attack.

For further information on our Incident Management and Response service, please contact one of our Sales representatives by calling (727) 537-9273 or by completing our Online Inquiry Form.