What Is Incident Response?

This document is an operational primer on incident response, explaining why IR matters, detailing the NIST-based lifecycle phases (preparation; detection and analysis; containment, eradication, and recovery; post-incident activity), and describing essential components such as plans, skilled teams, technology, threat intelligence, and communication. It discusses the choice between internal and third-party responders, the costs of inadequate response, provides a short real-world scenario, and highlights Arctic Wolf’s incident response services and platform as supporting capabilities.