Incident Response Services: Key Features and 7 Top Notch Solutions

What Are Incident Response Services? 

Incident response services provide organizations with access to outsourced teams that help address cybersecurity threats and breaches. When an attack happens, these services activate and help manage the security incident, minimizing harm and restoring system functionality. They ensure quick identification, mitigation, and documentation of security threats.

The goal of incident response is to control and mitigate damage to an organization’s IT infrastructure immediately after a breach. It also allows the security team to establish preventive measures against future incidents, by continuously analyzing and improving the incident handling and response processes.

Key Features of Incident Response Services 

Incident response services typically offer the following capabilities:

• Automated detection tools: Use algorithms and machine learning techniques to identify potential threats and anomalies in real time. This aids in rapid response, reducing the window of opportunity for attackers to inflict damage. Automated systems can also prioritize incidents based on severity and potential impact. 
• Forensic tools and techniques: Identify the origin and extent of a breach. They enable detailed analysis and investigation, helping to retrieve data, analyze system vulnerabilities, and identify attackers’ methodologies. This is useful for understanding the incident in depth, for regulatory audits and legal purposes.
• Repeatable processes and procedures: Ensure consistency and effectiveness in managing security incidents. These processes are predefined and documented, providing a clear framework that guides the incident response team through each phase of handling an incident. Key elements include incident detection, initial assessment, containment, eradication, recovery, and post-incident review.
• Rapid containment strategies: Isolate affected systems to prevent the spread of an attack. Immediate isolation helps minimize network disruption and reduces the impact of the breach. This typically involves automated processes that shut down or restrict network access to compromised areas.
• System restoration: Safely reintroduces affected systems back into the network after the incident is resolved, ensuring they are free of malicious code and vulnerabilities. Incident response teams restore systems and data to their pre-incident state without risking re-exposure. This often involves testing in controlled environments before release. 
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Aims to identify the underlying problems that allowed the security breach. This helps prevent future recurrences by addressing the root issues. The analysis often involves revisiting the incident from start to finish, uncovering flaws in technology or processes. 
• Integration with broader security measures: Aligns incident response processes with the overall IT security strategy, ensuring consistent protection across all levels of the organization.

Our Recommended Incident Response Services 

Exabeam, which provides a leading SIEM solution, partners with several incident response service providers. Here are the providers we trust to help our clients with incident response and their key service features.

1. Google Mandiant

Google Mandiant offers incident response services to help organizations prepare for, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity incidents. Their team combines frontline expertise with a deep understanding of global attacker behavior to provide support before, during, and after a breach. Key components of Mandiant’s services include:

• Incident response retainer: Establishing terms and conditions before an incident to ensure a swift 2-hour response time, flexible access to experts, and the ability to request investigations, training, consulting services, and custom intelligence reports.
• Compromise assessment: Identifying active or prior compromises and exploitable misconfigurations to minimize risk and preserve brand reputation.
• Crisis communications: Helping protect stakeholders and maintain confidence in business operations during and after a cyber incident.
• Proactive services: Accessing a range of services, training, and intelligence resources throughout the year to improve the organization’s cybersecurity posture and readiness.

2. Optiv

Optiv offers a range of incident response and recovery services to support organizations during cybersecurity breaches. Their team of experts provides essential advice, guidance, and hands-on expertise to help manage and mitigate the impact of cyber attacks. Optiv’s services include:

• Incident discovery: Assessing systems to uncover persistent threats and limiting losses from malware or breaches.
• Incident rapid response (IRR) program: Providing swift responses to ongoing incidents to regain control and mitigate damage.
• Incident response advising: Offering advice and support to improve the organization’s incident response capabilities.
• Incident response consulting: Delivering tailored consulting services to improve the overall security posture and preparedness.

3. GuidePoint

GuidePoint Security offers incident response services that help organizations quickly investigate cyber incidents and implement remediation strategies. It uses existing toolsets and data sources, supplemented by additional solutions to ensure visibility across the network, endpoints, logs, and other data sources. Key elements of GuidePoint’s services include:

• Incident response engagement methodology: Using a combination of the organization’s existing tools and additional solutions to achieve full environmental visibility.
• Threat signal service: Addressing common threats such as ransomware, phishing, DDoS attacks, insider threats, and advanced persistent threats with targeted remediation strategies.
• Broad expertise: Expertise in network traffic analysis, log collection and review, host analysis, malware analysis, forensic disk imaging, memory acquisition, and threat response techniques.
• Defined engagement structure: Aligning with industry standard incident response frameworks, providing a customized engagement plan that includes tasks, deliverables, communication methods, and status updates to ensure collaboration throughout the response process.
• Cyber insurance and legal counsel: Working closely with cyber insurance providers and legal counsel to ensure smooth engagement and compliance with policy requirements and legal processes.

4. CDW

CDW offers cybersecurity advisory services to help organizations assess their security environments, build defense strategies, and improve their incident response capabilities. Their approach is tailored to the needs of each organization, ensuring practical solutions. Key components of CDW’s services include:

• vCISO services: Providing strategic security guidance through a technology-neutral security consultant. This helps improve the maturity and scope of existing security practices via a structured three-step process focused on security strategy and planning.
• Security maturity assessment: Combining high-level security framework reviews with technical assessments to provide integrated recommendations for remediation. This helps organizations determine whether to focus on written policies, plans, and procedures or technical elements of security.
• Security architecture workshops: Evaluating business goals and technology landscapes to inform network segmentation strategies or enterprise-wide security frameworks.
• Security remediation workshops: Offering guidance on small to medium-term security projects or providing an objective review of existing security efforts.
• Emergency assistance: Providing emergency assistance and proactive planning to respond to breaches by identifying the scope of incidents, implementing incident handling and investigations, and performing system forensics with the help of partners. 
• Preparedness services: Including an IR program and playbook development, readiness assessments, and tabletop exercises.
• Compromise assessment: Using tools and tactics for active threat hunting and establishing indicators of compromise based on the MITRE ATT&CK framework. This helps uncover active threats and improve the security posture.
• Security Operations Center (SOC) advisory: Addressing common challenges faced by SOCs, such as talent shortages and alert overload. This includes benchmarking against industry standards, conducting penetration testing, planning SOC strategies, providing expert training, managing SOC technology deployment, and identifying automation opportunities.

5. Macninca

Macnica offers experience and security knowledge through a range of security services and SaaS solutions. Their services support organizations in managing and mitigating cyber threats. Key components of Macnica’s services include:

• Security advisory and consulting: Providing expert security advisory services, including support for constructing Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs). 
• Security assessments: Conducting device assessments, platform diagnostics, attack surface management, and web application vulnerability diagnostics. The ULTRA RED Domain Investigation Service further helps identify and mitigate domain-related threats.
• Monitoring and operating services: Offering a range of monitoring services such as Vectra AI Surveillance, integrated Security Operations Center (SOC) support, Active Directory monitoring, and CrowdStrike monitoring operation support. Additionally, they provide SIEM operational monitoring, Trellix EDR monitoring, and website security monitoring services.
• Incident response and threat hunting: Enabling specialized threat hunting and incident response services to identify and respond to incidents. The triage service helps manage incidents, minimizing damage and restoring operations quickly.
• Training and education: Providing educational services such as suspicious email training and CSIRT enhancement exercises to improve organizational readiness and response capabilities.
• SaaS solutions: These include Lean Seeks, a vulnerability risk triage platform, and Macnica U’s Case Visualizer for Box and LANSCOPE, which detects unauthorized access and configuration errors.

6. R-tec

R-tec offers incident response services to ensure a professional and timely response to cyber attacks. The service is structured to support organizations through all phases of an incident, from initial assessment to restoration and forensic analysis. Key components of R-tec’s services include:

• Guaranteed response times: Providing support remotely or on-site within predefined acceptance and response times to ensure swift action in the event of an attack. This service is available in various tiers to suit different organizational needs.
• Support in all phases of an attack: Offering quick initial assessments, immediate remedial measures, assistance in restoring normal operations, and forensic processing to thoroughly investigate incidents and prevent future occurrences.
• Reports and recommendations: Delivering analysis, decision-making bases, and detailed reports. R-tec works closely with in-house teams, service providers, authorities, and cyber insurers to implement necessary measures.
• Incident response readiness: Building technical and organizational measures, establishing important tools and processes, and providing expertise to ensure optimal preparation for emergencies. 
• Experienced emergency response team: Offering a dedicated team with over 25 years of experience and handling more than 100 security incidents annually. Their expertise includes preventing and containing attacks, dealing with security incidents, and restoring normal operations using the latest attack detection methods.
• Incident response readiness assessment: Reviewing existing technical and organizational response measures, comparing them with international best practices, and providing recommendations based on current threat situations.
• Attack simulation: Testing incident response plans through simulations of real attacks to evaluate the effectiveness of established processes, tools, and the response of security teams.

7. LevelBlue

LevelBlue offers rapid incident response services to assist organizations in managing and mitigating the impacts of cyber attacks. Their consultants can lead investigations or supplement internal cybersecurity teams, ensuring a proactive approach to incident management. Key components of LevelBlue’s services include:

• Incident management program: Offering expert resources to assess and improve all stages of the incident management lifecycle, helping prevent or minimize operational losses from security events.
• Incident management program assessment: Reviewing relevant documentation with custom-developed frameworks to perform gap analysis and offer remediation recommendations.
• Incident management strategy and roadmap development: Determining a desirable future state for the incident management program with a detailed roadmap of relevant technology, processes, and resources based on gap assessment results.
• Incident response plan and playbook development: Creating custom incident response plans tailored to the organization’s threat landscape, regulatory requirements, and technological environment.
• Incident response and forensics operations assessment: Conducting reviews of current internal processes and procedures for handling incidents upon detection of illegal activities.
• Forensics and electronic discovery: Offering information system-focused investigative capabilities, with professionals experienced in commercial litigation and criminal investigative proceedings.
• Incident response retainer service: Establishing terms and conditions for incident response services in advance, with a trusted advisor on standby for security incidents.

Exabeam Platform Capabilities: SIEM, UEBA, SOAR, Insider Threats, Compliance, TDIR

The Exabeam Security Operations Platform applies AI and automation to security operations workflows for a holistic approach to combating cyberthreats, delivering the most effective threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR): 

• AI-driven detections pinpoint high-risk threats by learning normal behavior of users and entities, and prioritizing threats with context-aware risk scoring. 
• Automated investigations simplify security operations, correlating disparate data to create threat timelines. 
• Playbooks document workflows and standardize activity to speed investigation and response. 
• Visualizations map coverage against the most strategic outcomes and frameworks to close data and detection gaps. 

With these capabilities, Exabeam empowers security operations teams to achieve faster, more accurate, and consistent TDIR.