ISO 27001:2022 Control 5.24 (A.5.24)

Explaining Annex A Control 5.24 Information security incident management planning and preparation

ISO 27001 Control 5.24: Information Security Incident Management Planning and Preparation requires organizations to establish structured processes for managing security incidents. This ensures that security events are detected, assessed, reported, and handled in a way that minimizes damage and enables rapid recovery. Additionally, effective communication with internal and external stakeholders is essential to ensuring a coordinated response.

Control Type

Information Security Properties

Cybersecurity Concepts

Operational Capabilities

Security Domains

Objective of Control 5.24

The objective of Control 5.24 is to ensure that your organization is well-prepared to handle security incidents in a consistent, effective, and structured manner. This involves:

Establishing a defined incident management process that outlines how security events and incidents should be reported, classified, and managed.
Ensuring that roles and responsibilities for incident response are clearly assigned and communicated.
Providing training and awareness programs to ensure that relevant personnel understand incident handling procedures.
Developing an incident response plan that allows for quick containment, analysis, and remediation of security threats.
Enabling effective coordination with internal and external stakeholders, including regulators, customers, suppliers, and law enforcement agencies.
Ensuring that lessons learned from incidents lead to continuous improvement in security practices.

Purpose of Control 5.24

The purpose of this control is to ensure a well-organized, efficient, and effective response to information security incidents. Security incidents must be handled in a way that:

Minimizes disruption to business operations.
Reduces potential financial and reputational damage.
Ensures compliance with legal and regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, NIST, CMMC, and other industry regulations).
Enhances security posture by learning from incidents and improving security controls.

Without a well-defined incident management plan, organizations may face delays in response, miscommunication among teams, and increased security risks, which could lead to prolonged downtime and greater financial and reputational consequences.

Establishing Roles and Responsibilities in Incident Management

Effective incident response requires clear roles and responsibilities to ensure that the right personnel handle security incidents efficiently. Your organization should:

1. Define an Incident Management Framework

Establish an incident response team (IRT) responsible for handling security incidents.
Define incident handling workflows covering detection, analysis, response, escalation, and recovery.
Ensure alignment with business objectives, considering the potential impact of incidents.

2. Assign Roles and Responsibilities

Incident Response Manager – Oversees and coordinates incident response activities.
Security Analysts – Monitor, detect, and analyze incidents.
IT Operations Team – Implements remediation and recovery actions.
Legal and Compliance – Ensures that regulatory and legal obligations are met.
Communication Team – Handles internal and external communications regarding incidents.

3. Train Personnel in Incident Handling

Provide regular training on incident management procedures.
Conduct tabletop exercises and simulations to test preparedness.
Ensure personnel are aware of reporting channels and response protocols.

Incident Management Procedures

Your organization must establish clear, actionable incident management procedures to respond to security threats effectively. These procedures should include:

1. Evaluation of Security Events

Define criteria for classifying security events as incidents.
Establish thresholds for low, medium, high, and critical severity incidents.

2. Monitoring and Detection

Implement security monitoring tools (e.g., SIEM, IDS/IPS) to detect threats.
Define alerting mechanisms for security teams to respond quickly.

3. Incident Handling and Response

Develop response playbooks for different types of incidents (e.g., malware infections, data breaches, insider threats).
Establish escalation procedures to ensure severe incidents receive immediate attention.

4. Coordination with External Stakeholders

Maintain contact lists for law enforcement, regulatory bodies, incident response vendors, and industry groups.
Ensure compliance with reporting obligations (e.g., GDPR breach notification requirements).

5. Post-Incident Analysis and Continuous Improvement

Conduct root cause analysis (RCA) to determine why incidents occurred.
Implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
Update incident response policies and procedures based on lessons learned.

Reporting Procedures for Information Security Incidents

Your organization must establish structured reporting mechanisms to ensure that incidents are properly documented and addressed. Key elements of reporting procedures include:

Immediate Incident Reporting: Employees must report incidents as soon as they are detected.
Use of Incident Forms: Standardized forms should be used to capture key details of incidents.
Incident Logging: All incidents should be logged in an incident tracking system for analysis.
Feedback Loops: Employees who report incidents should receive updates on their resolution.

Regulatory and Compliance Reporting

Ensure compliance with GDPR, NIST, CMMC, and industry-specific regulations.
Establish mechanisms to report breaches to authorities within required timeframes.

Relevant ISO 27001 Controls Supporting 5.24

Several other ISO 27001 controls complement Control 5.24 and should be implemented together:

Control 5.5 – Contact with Authorities
Ensures timely reporting of incidents to regulators and law enforcement agencies.
Control 5.6 – Contact with Special Interest Groups
Encourages information sharing with industry groups to improve incident response.
Control 5.25 – Assessment and Decision on Information Security Events
Ensures that security events are correctly evaluated to determine if they require further investigation or response.
Control 5.26 – Response to Information Security Incidents
Focuses on containment, eradication, and recovery following a security incident.
Control 5.28 – Collection of Evidence
Guides the correct handling of digital forensic evidence to support investigations.
Control 6.8 – Reporting of Information Security Events
Defines procedures for reporting security incidents to relevant stakeholders.
Control 8.15 and Control 8.16 – Logging and Monitoring
Establishes continuous monitoring for proactive incident detection.

Supporting Templates for Control 5.24

To assist with compliance, your organization can use the following ISO 27001 templates:

Incident Management Policy Template
Defines the incident management strategy, roles, and reporting procedures.
Incident Response Plan Template
Provides step-by-step procedures for handling security incidents.
Incident Reporting Form
Standardized form for reporting and documenting security incidents.
Root Cause Analysis Worksheet
Helps identify and mitigate underlying causes of security incidents.
Training and Competence Development Plan
Ensures continuous learning for incident response personnel.