What is CIRC?
CIRC is a team of cybersecurity professionals responsible for cyber incident detection, prevention, response, and remediation.
Difference between CIRC, CERT, and SOC
Apart from CIRC, such acronyms as CSIRT (computer security incident response team), CIRT (computer incident response team), CSIRC (computer security incident response center (or capability)), and CERT (computer emergency response team) may be encountered.
All of them are different names for the same entity – the cyber incident response team. These centers and teams perform similar actions and have the same goal of preventing and responding to cybersecurity incidents.
It is important to note that CERT is the registered trademark belonging to Carnegie Mellon University. All incident response teams that go under this name most likely have achieved authorization. In any other case, the incident response team may choose CIRC, CIRT, CSIRT, or any other title. However, it is a good decision to define why the specific term for an incident response team was chosen.
Another term often mentioned in connection with CIRC is SOC, or security operations center. It is a centralized team responsible for monitoring, detecting, analyzing, and responding to cybersecurity threats. The key difference between CIRC and SOC is that SOC has a broader scope of responsibilities and focuses on threat detection and incident prevention.
CIRC responsibilities
CIRCs often operate under the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) framework to provide the fastest possible and most efficient incident response. The framework includes four stages of incident response:
- Preparation. This phase may include such responsibilities of a CIRC as creating incident response plans and keeping them up-to-date, sharing and obtaining information about the threat landscape, reviewing security policies, and so on.
- Detection and analysis. CIRC monitors the infrastructures for Indicators of Compromise (IoC), Indicators of Attack (IoA) and other signs of possible threats, identifies incidents, assesses the scope of the damage, and analyzes incidents. The stage may also include collecting evidence related to the incident to support the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators, if applicable.
- Containment, eradication, and recovery. CIRC orchestrates the response efforts, identifies affected systems and users, and takes necessary steps to contain the incident as quickly as possible while preserving evidence for further investigation or legal action.
- Post-incident activity. CIRC develops post-incident reports detailing actions taken during response activities and provides recommendations for future prevention of similar incidents or improved response processes.
Reasons to outsource CIRC
While every organization may need incident response services, having an in-house CIRC is not always the best practice. Quite often creating a centralized CIRC from dedicated incident response professionals is not an option for a company due to the budget limitations. Meanwhile, the distributed CIRC team assembled from information security professionals with other main roles may not provide high-quality incident response.
Does Group-IB provide incident response services?
Group-IB is a leading incident response provider with the fastest services. Our skilled incident response team operates globally to ensure timely incident containment, recovery, and remediation services. With 80+ experts in incident response, digital forensics, malware analysis, and reverse engineering, hands-on experience, and knowledge of the most recent tactics of attackers, we are ready to respond to incidents of various nature and complexity. Learn more about Group-IB Incident Response services.