Free Incident Review Layout Template
Incident Review Layout
Prepared By: [Your Name]
Company: [Your Company Name]
1. Incident Summary
1.1 Overview
Provide a high-level summary of the incident, including what happened, where it occurred, and when.
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Incident Title:
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Date of Incident:
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Time of Incident:
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Location:
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Duration of Impact:
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Reported By:
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Incident Classification Level:
1.2 Key Details
Outline the primary facts and critical information about the incident.
Detail |
Description |
---|---|
Affected Systems |
List systems impacted |
Scope of Incident |
Number of users/regions affected |
Incident Severity Level |
Low/Medium/High |
Major Stakeholders |
List involved departments |
Incident Coordinator |
Assigned individual |
Primary Communication Method |
Email, Phone, etc. |
2. Root Cause Analysis
2.1 Problem Identification
Define the root cause and contributing factors.
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Root Cause: Describe the main issue that led to the incident.
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Contributing Factors:
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Network connectivity issues
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Software errors
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Configuration changes
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2.2 Timeline of Events
A chronological breakdown of significant events.
Time |
Event Description |
Person Responsible |
---|---|---|
09:00 AM |
Initial Incident Reported |
John Doe |
09:15 AM |
Investigative Team Assembled |
Incident Coordinator |
09:30 AM |
Root Cause Hypothesized |
Technical Lead |
10:00 AM |
Mitigation Strategy Deployed |
IT Support |
11:30 AM |
Incident Declared Resolved |
Operations Manager |
2.3 Impact Analysis
Analyze the broader consequences of the incident.
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System Downtime: Hours/minutes of downtime
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Data Loss: Amount of data impacted
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Customer Impact: Number of clients affected, service-level breaches
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Financial Impact: Estimated costs, if applicable
3. Response and Containment
3.1 Immediate Actions Taken
List the critical steps executed in response to the incident.
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Containment Actions:
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Isolated affected systems
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Blocked network access for compromised systems
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Mitigation Efforts:
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Applied temporary fix
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Rolled back recent changes
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3.2 Long-Term Remediation
Outline any corrective measures taken to prevent recurrence.
Remediation Task |
Assigned To |
Completion Date |
---|---|---|
Update Security Protocols |
Security Team |
mm/dd/yyyy |
Conduct Team Training |
HR Department |
mm/dd/yyyy |
Upgrade System Architecture |
IT Department |
mm/dd/yyyy |
Establish Incident Response Playbook |
Operations |
mm/dd/yyyy |
4. Communication Review
4.1 Internal Communications
Summarize the internal communications during the incident.
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Notification Channels: Email, Slack, SMS
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Frequency of Updates: Every 15 minutes/Every hour
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Key Stakeholders Notified: Executive team, affected departments
4.2 External Communications
Detail the communication efforts directed at clients or the public.
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Public Statements Released: Website update, press release
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Client Notifications: Email updates, SMS alerts
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Social Media Management: Addressed inquiries, provided reassurance
5. Lessons Learned
5.1 Positive Takeaways
Highlight what worked well during the incident response.
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Successful Early Detection: Early warnings enabled swift action
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Effective Team Collaboration: Cross-functional teams communicated efficiently
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Timely Resolution: Issue resolved within the expected timeframe
5.2 Areas for Improvement
Identify opportunities for future improvement.
Issue Encountered |
Suggested Improvement |
Responsible Team |
---|---|---|
Slow initial response time |
Implement automatic alerts |
IT Operations |
Inadequate documentation |
Update incident response guidelines |
Documentation Team |
Communication delays |
Designate backup communication leads |
Communications Team |
6. Action Plan
6.1 Preventative Measures
Outline the actions to avoid similar incidents in the future.
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Regular Training Sessions: Monthly cybersecurity awareness training
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Infrastructure Improvements: Invest in redundancy systems
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System Audits: Conduct quarterly vulnerability assessments
6.2 Follow-up Schedule
Plan for ongoing monitoring and review of the implemented changes.
Follow-up Action |
Due Date |
Assigned Team |
---|---|---|
Conduct Post-Mortem Review |
mm/dd/yyyy |
Incident Response |
Implement Security Upgrades |
mm/dd/yyyy |
IT Security |
Review & Update Policies |
mm/dd/yyyy |
Compliance Team |