IR-8—Incident Response Plan
>Control Description
Develop an incident response plan that:
Provides the organization with a roadmap for implementing its incident response capability;
Describes the structure and organization of the incident response capability;
Provides a high-level approach for how the incident response capability fits into the overall organization;
Meets the unique requirements of the organization, which relate to mission, size, structure, and functions;
Defines reportable incidents;
Provides metrics for measuring the incident response capability within the organization;
Defines the resources and management support needed to effectively maintain and mature an incident response capability;
Addresses the sharing of incident information;
Is reviewed and approved by ⚙organization-defined personnel or roles ⚙organization-defined frequency; and
Explicitly designates responsibility for incident response to ⚙organization-defined entities, personnel, or roles.
Distribute copies of the incident response plan to ⚙organization-defined incident response personnel (identified by name and/or by role) and organizational elements;
Update the incident response plan to address system and organizational changes or problems encountered during plan implementation, execution, or testing;
Communicate incident response plan changes to ⚙organization-defined incident response personnel (identified by name and/or by role) and organizational elements; and
Protect the incident response plan from unauthorized disclosure and modification.
>Control Enhancements(1)
>Cross-Framework Mappings
>Programmatic Queries
Related Services
CLI Commands
aws ssm list-documents --filters 'Key=DocumentType,Values=Automation'aws ssm-incidents list-response-plansaws s3api list-buckets --query "Buckets[?contains(Name,'incident') || contains(Name,'runbook')]"aws ssm-incidents get-response-plan --arn ARN>Relevant Technologies
Technology-specific guidance with authoritative sources and verification commands.
>Supplemental Guidance
It is important that organizations develop and implement a coordinated approach to incident response. Organizational mission and business functions determine the structure of incident response capabilities. As part of the incident response capabilities, organizations consider the coordination and sharing of information with external organizations, including external service providers and other organizations involved in the supply chain.
For incidents involving personally identifiable information (i.e., breaches), include a process to determine whether notice to oversight organizations or affected individuals is appropriate and provide that notice accordingly.
>Related Controls
>Assessment Interview Topics
Questions assessors commonly ask
Process & Governance:
- •What formal policies and procedures govern the implementation of IR-8 (Incident Response Plan)?
- •Who are the designated roles responsible for implementing, maintaining, and monitoring IR-8?
- •How frequently is the IR-8 policy reviewed and updated, and what triggers policy changes?
- •What governance structure ensures IR-8 requirements are consistently applied across all systems?
Technical Implementation:
- •Describe the specific technical mechanisms or controls used to enforce IR-8 requirements.
- •What automated tools, systems, or technologies are deployed to implement IR-8?
- •How is IR-8 integrated into your system architecture and overall security posture?
- •What configuration settings, parameters, or technical specifications enforce IR-8 requirements?
Evidence & Documentation:
- •What documentation demonstrates the complete implementation of IR-8?
- •What audit logs, records, reports, or monitoring data validate IR-8 compliance?
- •Can you provide evidence of periodic reviews, assessments, or testing of IR-8 effectiveness?
- •What artifacts would you present during a FedRAMP assessment to demonstrate IR-8 compliance?
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