Before anything else, preparation is the key to success

When organisations think about Incident Response (IR), they often imagine the dramatic moments: ransomware spreading, systems failing, executives on urgent calls, and security teams racing to contain the damage.

But the uncomfortable truth is this:

The outcome of a cyber incident is usually decided long before the incident ever happens.

For organisations with little or no IR capability, focusing first on the preparation phase is not a “nice to have”. It is the single most important factor in determining whether an incident becomes a controlled disruption—or a business-threatening crisis.

When confusion is the real incident

In unprepared organisations, the early hours of an incident look all too familiar:

• No shared understanding of whether this is really an incident

• Unclear escalation paths

• Conflicting instructions from IT, security, legal, and leadership

• Delays while people work out who is allowed to make decisions

This confusion is not caused by the attacker; it is caused by the absence of preparation.

Preparation replaces panic with clarity. It ensures that when something happens, the organisation already knows what matters, who acts, and how decisions are made.

You can’t invent governance in the middle of a crisis

Major incidents force uncomfortable decisions:

• Do we isolate critical systems?

• Do we shut down operations to contain spread?

• Do we notify customers or regulators?

• Do we engage external specialists?

Without preparation, these decisions become political, slow, and inconsistent. People hesitate because authority is unclear. Others act independently, creating risk and evidence loss.

Preparation defines:

• Clear roles and responsibilities

• Decision-making authority

• Escalation thresholds

• Accountability at every stage

When governance exists before the incident, action happens quickly and confidently during it.

Communication failures multiply damage

Poor communication can cause more harm than the technical compromise:

• Staff receive mixed messages

• Executives speak without context

• Customers hear about incidents via rumours or social media

• Trust is eroded unnecessarily

Preparation defines:

• A clear communications strategy

• Single points of truth

• Approval workflows

• Crisis messaging principles

Preparation helps to control the narrative.

Evidence is fragile — and unprepared teams destroy it

A costly consequence of an immature IR function is the accidental destruction of evidence:

• Servers rebooted “to see if it fixes it”

• Malware deleted by endpoint tools

• Logs overwritten or never retained

• Endpoints wiped before investigation

Once evidence is gone, it is gone forever.

Preparation ensures:

• Evidence preservation procedures are understood

• Logging and retention are enabled ahead of time

• Staff know what not to touch

• Forensic triage happens before remediation

This is critical not only for understanding what happened, but for legal defensibility, insurance claims, and regulatory scrutiny.

Tools, access, and visibility can’t be improvised

During an incident, responders need immediate access to:

• Endpoint, network, and identity telemetry

• Methods of data collection and storage

• Backups and recovery systems

• Secure communication channels

Unprepared organisations discover too late that:

• Asset registers are missing

• Logs are incomplete or unavailable

• Backups are untested

• Critical systems are undocumented

Preparation ensures:

• Clear lines of communication

• Centralised logging and visibility

• Tested backups and recovery paths

• Known tooling and data sources

You cannot respond to what you cannot see.

Incidents Are the Worst Time to Find Suppliers

Serious incidents often require external support: forensic specialists, legal counsel, crisis communications, or insurers.

Without preparation:

• Vendor onboarding causes delays

• Contracts and NDAs stall progress

• Decisions are made under pressure

• Costs increase rapidly

Preparation allows organisations to pre-select trusted partners, define engagement triggers, and remove friction when time matters most.

Regulatory clocks don’t wait for readiness

Many regulatory and legal frameworks impose strict timelines for incident notification. Missed deadlines or inaccurate disclosures can significantly worsen the impact of an incident.

Unprepared organisations struggle to answer basic questions:

• Is this incident reportable?

• Who makes that determination?

• What evidence supports the decision?

• Who communicates externally?

Preparation ensures:

• Reporting criteria are defined

• Timelines are understood

• Legal review processes are in place

• Communications are accurate and consistent

Compliance failures are often a secondary breach—one entirely within the organisation’s control.

Preparation builds muscle memory, not just documentation

People under stress default to habit. Without preparation:

• Security alerts are ignored

• Incidents are downplayed

• “Quick fixes” override careful response

Preparation—especially through exercises—creates:

• Familiarity with escalation

• Confidence in decision-making

• Faster, calmer responses

• A culture of early reporting

This is not about paperwork. It is about behaviour under pressure.

You cannot mature incident response by accident

Incident Response maturity is cumulative. It depends on:

• Defined processes

• Lessons learned

• Continuous improvement

Without preparation, every incident becomes a first-time failure.

With preparation, each incident becomes:

• More controlled

• Less disruptive

• Less expensive

• A source of learning rather than chaos

For organisations without an established IR capability, preparation is the foundation upon which everything else depends.

Before detection.
Before response.
Before recovery.

Preparation is the key to success.