What is the main focus during the containment phase?

The primary objective during the containment phase is to prevent further damage caused by a security incident. This involves taking immediate and decisive actions to stop the spread of the incident and mitigate its impact on the organization's operations and assets. By focusing on containment, teams aim to limit the extent of the breach, protect sensitive data, and maintain critical services, allowing for a more controlled recovery process later.

Effective containment strategies might include isolating affected systems, disabling compromised accounts, or blocking malicious traffic. This phase is crucial because if an incident is not contained swiftly, it can escalate, leading to more severe consequences, such as increased financial loss, reputational damage, or regulatory penalties.

While analyzing the root cause, communicating with external stakeholders, and gathering evidence are all important components of incident response, they typically follow the containment phase. Addressing these areas too early can hinder the ability to effectively contain an incident and could lead to more significant damage.