An Incident Response (IR) playbook is a comprehensive document that outlines the procedures and workflows an organization follows when responding to security incidents. It serves as a structured guide for incident identification, containment, eradication, and recovery. The playbook includes information about roles and responsibilities, preparation, incident classification, initial response actions, containment, investigation, eradication, communication, and post-incident actions.
On the other hand, incident response workflows are more detailed procedures that provide step-by-step instructions for specific tasks during incident handling, such as handling malware infections, data breaches, DDoS attacks, and insider threats.
Both the playbook and workflows are essential components of a robust incident response strategy and are regularly updated to adapt to changing threats and organizational needs. Regular training and exercises based on the playbook and workflows help keep the incident response team well-prepared for real-world incidents.
