What are the four phases of an incident response plan?

The four phases of an incident response plan are accurately represented in the first option: Preparation, Detection and Analysis, Containment, Recovery, and Post-Incident Activity.

During the Preparation phase, organizations establish policies, procedures, and resources necessary to respond effectively to incidents. This lays the groundwork for a strong incident response capability.

Following that, the Detection and Analysis phase involves identifying potential security events, analyzing them to understand their nature and severity, and determining whether they are actual incidents requiring a response.

Once a threat is confirmed, the Containment, Recovery, and Post-Incident Activity phase is critical. Containment refers to the steps taken to limit the impact of an incident, while Recovery focuses on restoring systems and operations to normal functionality. Finally, the Post-Incident Activity encompasses reviewing the response to learn from the incident, improving future preparedness.

This structured approach ensures not only effective responses to incidents but also enhances the overall security posture of the organization through continuous improvement based on lessons learned. Other provided options fail to fully capture the comprehensive framework of an effective incident response process, missing key components necessary for thorough incident management.