The Most Important Consideration for Developing an Incident Response Program

A.

Developing an incident response program is crucial to managing cybersecurity incidents and minimizing their impact on the organization. When developing an incident response program, various factors need to be considered to ensure its effectiveness. Among these factors, the MOST important consideration is senior management support (option A).

Senior management support is critical because it helps to ensure that the incident response program aligns with the organization's overall strategy and objectives. Management support is essential in providing adequate resources, including financial and personnel, to support the development and implementation of the program. Additionally, senior management support can help in promoting a culture of cybersecurity awareness and responsibility across the organization, which is crucial in preventing and managing incidents.

While technical skills of response staff (option B), number of dedicated response staff (option C), and incident response procedures (option D) are also critical factors to consider, they are not as important as senior management support. The technical skills of response staff are essential in managing cybersecurity incidents effectively. However, without senior management support, the organization may not be able to attract and retain skilled response staff, or provide them with the necessary training and tools.

The number of dedicated response staff is also an important consideration. However, the organization needs to strike a balance between having enough response staff and not overstaffing. This consideration may also be influenced by the organization's size, complexity, and risk profile.

Finally, incident response procedures are critical in providing a structured approach to managing cybersecurity incidents. However, these procedures need to be supported by senior management, communicated effectively to response staff, and regularly reviewed and updated to ensure their effectiveness.

In summary, senior management support is the MOST important consideration when developing an incident response program. It is crucial in providing the necessary resources, promoting a culture of cybersecurity awareness, and aligning the program with the organization's overall strategy and objectives.