playbook

🔹 What is a Playbook?

A Playbook is a detailed, step-by-step guide that defines how to detect, analyze, respond to, and recover from a specific type of cybersecurity incident.

It acts as a standard operating procedure (SOP) for security teams to follow during an incident.

🔹 Purpose of a Playbook

The main goal of a playbook is to ensure that incident response (IR) activities are:

• Consistent — everyone follows the same process
• Efficient — saves time by avoiding guesswork
• Effective — improves accuracy and reduces errors during high-pressure situations

🔹 What a Playbook Typically Includes

A cybersecurity playbook usually contains:

1. Incident Type Description – e.g., phishing, ransomware, data breach, insider threat
2. Detection Methods – how to identify the incident (logs, alerts, indicators of compromise)
3. Containment Steps – how to isolate affected systems to stop the spread
4. Eradication and Recovery – how to remove the threat and restore normal operations
5. Post-Incident Activities – lessons learned, documentation, and preventive measures

🔹 Example

Phishing Incident Playbook

• Step 1: Identify suspicious email and report it
• Step 2: Isolate the affected user account
• Step 3: Analyze the email and attachment for malware
• Step 4: Remove the malicious email from all inboxes
• Step 5: Reset credentials and strengthen email filters

🔹 In Short

A Playbook is a repeatable, structured response plan for handling specific security incidents quickly, accurately, and consistently.