Incident Response Policy

Gray Ghost Data Consultants maintains a comprehensive incident response program to effectively detect, respond to, and recover from security incidents.

Scope

This policy applies to all security incidents affecting:

• Gray Ghost Data Consultants systems and infrastructure


• Customer data processed or stored by our services


• Third-party services integrated with our platform

Incident Classification

Severity Levels

Level	Description	Examples	Response Time
Critical	Active breach or imminent threat	Data exfiltration, ransomware, active intrusion	Immediate
High	Significant security impact	Successful phishing, unauthorized access attempt	1 hour
Medium	Potential security impact	Vulnerability discovered, policy violation	4 hours
Low	Minimal security impact	Failed attack attempts, minor policy issues	24 hours

Incident Categories

• Unauthorized Access: Attempts or successful unauthorized system access
• Data Breach: Unauthorized access to or disclosure of data
• Malware: Malicious software detection or infection
• Denial of Service: Attacks affecting service availability
• Insider Threat: Malicious or negligent insider activity
• Physical Security: Physical security breaches
• Third-Party: Incidents involving sub-processors or vendors

Incident Response Phases

Phase 1: Detection & Identification

Objective: Quickly identify and validate potential security incidents

Activities:

• Monitor security alerts from SIEM and monitoring systems


• Receive and triage reports from employees, customers, or external parties


• Validate incident authenticity and rule out false positives


• Assign initial severity classification


• Activate incident response team if warranted

Tools:

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)


• Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)


• Application and infrastructure monitoring


• Employee reporting channels

Phase 2: Containment

Objective: Limit the scope and impact of the incident

Immediate Containment:

• Isolate affected systems or networks


• Block malicious IP addresses or accounts


• Disable compromised credentials


• Preserve evidence for investigation

Long-Term Containment:

• Implement temporary security controls


• Deploy patches or mitigations


• Establish secure communications channels


• Document all containment actions

Phase 3: Investigation & Analysis

Objective: Determine root cause, scope, and impact

Activities:

• Collect and preserve evidence (logs, artifacts, images)


• Analyze attack vectors and techniques


• Determine scope of data or systems affected


• Identify indicators of compromise (IOCs)


• Document timeline of events

Evidence Handling:

• Maintain chain of custody


• Create forensic copies where needed


• Secure evidence storage


• Document all analysis steps

Phase 4: Eradication

Objective: Remove the threat from the environment

Activities:

• Remove malware or unauthorized access


• Patch vulnerabilities exploited


• Reset compromised credentials


• Verify threat elimination


• Strengthen affected controls

Phase 5: Recovery

Objective: Restore systems and operations to normal

Activities:

• Restore systems from clean backups if needed


• Gradually bring systems back online


• Monitor for recurrence


• Validate system integrity


• Resume normal operations

Recovery Objectives:

• Recovery Time Objective (RTO): 4 hours


• Recovery Point Objective (RPO): 1 hour

Phase 6: Post-Incident Review

Objective: Learn from the incident and improve defenses

Activities:

• Conduct post-incident review meeting


• Document lessons learned


• Update incident response procedures


• Implement preventive measures


• Share relevant findings with stakeholders

Deliverables:

• Incident report


• Root cause analysis


• Remediation action items


• Updated runbooks or procedures

Roles & Responsibilities

Incident Response Team

Role	Responsibilities
Incident Commander	Overall incident coordination, decision-making, stakeholder communication
Security Lead	Technical investigation, containment, eradication
Operations Lead	System recovery, service restoration
Communications Lead	Internal/external communications, customer notification
Legal/Compliance	Regulatory obligations, legal considerations

Escalation Matrix

Severity	Initial Response	Escalation (1 hour)	Executive Notification
Critical	Security Lead	Incident Commander	Immediate
High	Security Lead	Incident Commander	Within 2 hours
Medium	Security Analyst	Security Lead	Daily summary
Low	Security Analyst	As needed	Weekly summary

Communication Protocols

Internal Communication

• Dedicated incident Slack channel created per incident
• Regular status updates at defined intervals
• All incident communications documented

External Communication

• Customer notification as per Notification Process
• Regulatory notification as required by law
• Law enforcement engagement when appropriate
• Public disclosure when warranted

Documentation Requirements

All incidents require documentation including:

• Incident ticket with timeline
• Evidence collection logs
• Communication records
• Post-incident report
• Remediation tracking

Testing & Training

• Tabletop exercises conducted quarterly
• Technical incident simulations annually
• Response team training ongoing
• Procedures reviewed and updated annually

Contact Information

Security Incident Reporting:

• Email: security@grayghostdata.com


• Emergency: [On-call number provided to customers]

For Customers: Report potential security issues affecting your data immediately through your designated support channel or the emergency contact.