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Running head: BEST PRACTICES FOR CLOUD INCIDENCE RESPONSE 1

BEST PRACTICES FOR CLOUD INCIDENCE RESPONSE 4

Best practices for cloud incidence response

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Due to an increase in cyber incidences and insecurity that most organizations face today, having a functional and well-structured incidence response team is very paramount for the success of organizations. Today many organization are moving their resources to the cloud due to lack of better talent, which is needed to manage different security issues in the current operating environment. Organizations find it difficult to get the best candidate, and if they get them, they are required to pay them higher salaries (Rishi 2016). According to a study done by Bureau of labour statistics experts, the jobs that relate to information security analysts are more likely to grow by the year 2024, and the salaries are also expected to rise to six figures. Due to this, many organizations find it expensive to employ information analyst's experts and seek services from the cloud.

When it comes to cloud, responding to incidence as quick as possible is very crucial as it helps to minimize any losses, ensure that any vulnerabilities are mitigated as soon as possible as well as ensuring that services and other services as restored to reduce future risks. In this write-up, I will discuss some of the best practices for incident response in the cloud (Rishi 2016). To ensure that there are best practices for responding to incidence, the following practices are very paramount.

i) Enhancing collaboration

Collaboration is critical in any setup as it symbolizes a capable team and helps in harnessing the best between the team members. In responding to cloud incidence, having better collaboration between the incidence team is key to the success of the cloud. Through the partnership, the junior analysts can benefit a lot for the senior analysts who are well experienced (Rishi 2016). Better collaboration has also been identified to reduce duplication of tasks which can be expensive and delay the process of responding to risk.

ii) Coming up with a playbook

Coming up with a playbook that defines and prescribes all the standards and procedures that needs to follow in responding to incidents is very crucial. Although it is not possible to come up with all procedures for all events as some incidents may not be known but coming up with a playbook that describes the procedures for the common incidents (Smallwood, 2014). It also acts as vital training material for the team. It is essential to ensure that the playbooks are well updated even through automation. It is also crucial. Fostering situational awareness is also important where the team can analyse past incidents, and this can help in coming up with better decisions concerning the current or even future events.

iii) Automating incidence response

Another important way is through automating the various tasks or incidences that keep on recurring or are routine. Through automating multiple tasks, it becomes easy to resume the services that have been affected, and this ensures that services continue as quickly as possible (Smallwood, 2014). Through automating various tasks, it also frees the staff and makes members concentrate on other essential tasks.

iv) Better analysis of incidents

Another importance practice is analyzing the incidents and coming up with a database that can be used to determine different types of problems that are likely to be experienced or encountered, skills necessary for addressing to address a separate issue, analyzing incidence frequency as well as other vital facts (Smallwood, 2014). Conducting this analysis is critical in identifying any vulnerabilities and identifying areas to enhance security.

In summary, like other essential practices that are related to the cloud, handling incidences should be shared responsibilities. It is imperative to plan ahead of any occurrences as this ensures that the right contacts are sourced, processes and other vital tools. Through adhering to the above practices, the cloud incidence response team can be in a better position to deal with any incidences that are likely to come with cloud use.

References

Rishi, B. ( 2016). Best practices for incident response in the age of the cloud. Network World. https://www.networkworld.com/article/3116011/best-practices-for-incident-response-in-the-age-of-cloud.html

Smallwood, R. F. (2014). Information Governance: Concepts, strategies, and best practices. John Wiley & Sons.