Incident Response 101: What Is a CSIRT?
In order to protect increasingly distributed digital environments, cybersecurity professionals are often required to quickly respond to security events. The team that responds to events is typically a CSIRT, which carries out the incident response plan of the organization. Read on to find out what a CSIRT is and how it can help you protect your network.
What Is Incident Response (IR)?
Incident response is the organized practice of responding to security events. The goal is to recognize an attack, remediate as soon as possible, and then fix the source of the breach. In this case, the term incident refers to unauthorized access and or use of information assets, such as digital ecosystems, endpoint devices, and the corporate network.
Incident response helps organizations to reduce and limit risks associated with security events. The goal is to respond quickly and prevent data and financial losses. This is the first line of defense, and hopefully the last. The ideal result is containing the incident and preventing a major breach.
Typically, incident response is composed of three key elements - a plan, a team, and a technology. An incident response plan (IRP) is a set of guidelines that cover how the response teams handle security events. The IRP contains six steps - preparation, identification, containment, eradication, recovery, and lessons learned.
What Is a CSIRT?
A Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) is a group of cybersecurity experts that respond to events. The CSIRT unit is responsible for putting the incident response plan into action.
The key role of a CSIRT is preventing, managing, and responding to security incidents. Sometimes, that also entails performing research, creating educational papers, and continuously learning more about cybersecurity.
During a security event, the CSIRT typically takes charge of managing internal communications, as well as external communications with shareholders, employees, customers, and the press. After a security event, the CSIRT may recommend IR changes such as new policies, different governance, and introducing IR tools and training.
Types of CSIRT Units
CSIRT units are typically categorized into four types of functions, but an overlap may occur.
Centralized CSIRT Units
This is a single team focused solely on protecting one organization. The centralized CSIRT is typically located on-premises, and manages the organization’s IR operation, including tools, procedures, and plans. A centralized team often serves small organizations.
Distributed CSIRT Units
A distributed CSIRT unit is composed of multiple independent teams, which collaborate for the purpose of sharing IR responsibilities. The distribution of responsibilities vary from one project to another, and resources are spread appropriately. The distributed CSIRT is usually managed by a coordinating team.
Coordinating CSIRT Units
This type of CSIRT unit is created for the purpose of managing distributed CSIRTs. The coordinating CSIRT directs the operation, collecting communication from all CSIRTs and then spreading resources and responsibilities across the operation. The coordinating teams don’t respond to events.
Hybrid CSIRT Units
Hybrid teams are composed of distributed, coordinating, and centralized teams. The typical hybrid CSIRT unit has a primary central CSIRT for response. The distributed teams are called on-demand, only when their unique expertise is required. In this case, the centralized team also takes the role of a coordinating unit.
CSIRT Use Cases
Here are the main use cases for a CSIRT:
- Academic research—CSIRT units collaborate with academic communities such as universities, colleges, and schools for the purpose of researching cybersecurity events.
- Commercial IR—third-party CSIRT units that offer their services for the benefit of commercial enterprises.
- Provider CSIRT—centralized units that are built for the purpose of serving one organization.
- Government CSIRT—units that protect government infrastructure and are hosted by the same government entity. One government entity can setup multiple CSIRTs that collaborate on regional, local, or sector scales.
- National CSIRT—units that protect the country, and serve as coordinators of IR and the country’s representative during national and international events. They can also help smaller CSIRT units.
- Military CSIRT—units that protect military institutions. Military CSIRT units can be limited to the capabilities of a nation, and often specialize in military technologies.
CISA as an Examples of CSIRT
The Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) can be categorized as a government or national CSIRT. CISA was established in 2018, and it serves the U.S as a federal entity within the scope of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CISA collaborates with other security entities, including foreign governments.
CISA informs the public of new and relevant vulnerabilities, shares cybersecurity information such as analysis reports and recent alerts, and responds to cybersecurity events. CISA also provides free online training for constituents, as well as prevention and detection tools. You can find more information about CISA and its services and resources here.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has helped you gain a better understanding of what a CSIRT is, as well as its importance and functions. Before determining whether you need the services of a CSIRT, assess your situation.
For some organizations, the right solution would be to form a centralized in-house CSIRT. Other businesses might do well with outsourced CSIRT services. Make sure that you choose the right solution for you, and make use of free educational sources.