Incident Response
Incident Response Playbook Development
Cyberus works with relevant owners to produce usable guidance and a plan for validation through review or exercise.
- Prioritized incident scenarios
- Roles, decisions and escalation criteria
- Evidence and system dependencies
- Reviewable playbooks and validation plan
The proposition
Connect technical steps to business decisions
Give responders practical scenario guidance that connects technical steps with business decisions and named owners. The work focuses on prioritized incident scenarios and records where evidence or authorization limits the conclusion.
A playbook should work under pressure
Generic response checklists can miss the systems, authority and communication paths that shape a real decision. A useful playbook explains triggers, roles, evidence, containment choices and recovery hand-offs for a defined scenario.
Cyberus develops content with the people expected to use it and records dependencies that still need resolution. The document remains an operational aid that should be maintained and exercised.
Turning response into steps
- Trigger condition. The observable signs that tell a responder this playbook applies and should be opened.
- Decision owner. Investigation, containment, communication and recovery duties are tied to named roles.
- Evidence checklist. Relevant sources, access owners and preservation needs are listed for the responder.
- Reviewed playbook. The steps are walked through, corrected and given an owner for regular updates.
Why it matters
- Business risk: Without agreed steps, responders improvise, duplicate work or skip evidence, and results depend on who is on duty.
- Decision it supports: Teams can decide who acts, when to escalate and what to preserve, using guidance written for their real systems.
- What you receive: You receive scenario playbooks, role and evidence guidance and a validation plan, within the agreed scope.
Scenario guidance with clear ownership
Trigger criteria
Defines observable conditions and thresholds for activating the playbook.
- Why it matters
- A playbook that is opened too late or too early loses trust, so activation needs clear signals.
- Supports
- Consistent decisions about when to start the response
Role and decision map
Assigns investigation, containment, communication and recovery responsibilities.
- Why it matters
- Gaps in authority cause delay, while overlaps cause conflict, particularly across teams.
- Supports
- Defined hand-offs between investigation and operations
Evidence checklist
Identifies relevant sources, access owners, preservation needs and known limitations.
- Why it matters
- Responders rarely have time to hunt for log sources or ask who holds access during a live event.
- Supports
- Faster, more reliable evidence collection
Maintained playbook
Provides versioned steps, dependencies, escalation points and a review schedule.
- Why it matters
- Out-of-date guidance misleads people, so a version history and owner keep it dependable.
- Supports
- A document that stays accurate as systems change
How a playbook is developed
Why choose Cyberus
A playbook can make roles and choices easier to find during an incident. Its usefulness depends on accurate inputs, trained users and continued review.
Team certifications
Individual qualifications held by members of the Cyberus team. They are not company accreditations, and not every consultant on an engagement holds every badge.
OSCP
Hands-on penetration testing skills, from enumeration to exploitation and privilege escalation.
OSWE
Web application security skills, including source code review and exploiting complex web vulnerabilities.
OSED
Exploit development skills, including analysing Windows software and writing custom exploits.
OSCP+
Hands-on penetration testing skills, from enumeration to exploitation and privilege escalation.
CRTA
Red team analysis skills, including adversary tactics and techniques.
eWPT
Web application penetration testing skills, from assessment method to exploiting common web flaws.
eWPTX
Advanced web application penetration testing skills, including complex attack techniques.
eMAPT
Mobile application penetration testing skills for Android and iOS applications.
BTL1
Defensive security skills across security operations, phishing analysis, forensics and incident response.
eCIR
Incident response skills, including investigating, containing and analysing security incidents.
CRTE
Red teaming skills focused on Windows environments and the tradecraft used against them.
CCT
EC-Council's Certified Cybersecurity Technician (CCT) validates foundational security, network, and defense skills.
Security+
CompTIA Security+ validates core skills in baseline cybersecurity, risk management, and threats.
Incident Response Playbook Development
Frequently asked questions
How is a playbook different from an incident response plan?
The plan sets the overall operating model; a playbook gives scenario-specific triggers, decisions and actions within it.
Can existing runbooks be reused?
Yes. Relevant material can be reconciled, provided owners verify that access, systems and responsibilities remain current.
Should every possible incident have a playbook?
No. Start with scenarios where clear, repeatable guidance would most improve coordination or evidence handling.
Develop a usable response playbook
Tell us which incident scenario and operational teams need clearer, maintained guidance.