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Incident Response

When minutes matter,speed is the service.

Cyber incident response built for containment and recovery. Prepare left of the boom. React fast right of the boom. Time is of the essence.

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24/7/365 · SOC 2 Type II · Speed to contain
Outcomes

React fast. Recover with intent.

Prevention reduces how often the boom happens. Incident response decides how bad it gets when it still does. Speed is not a slogan here. It is the difference between a contained event and a business-stopping one.

  • Speed when it counts

    Incidents do not wait for business hours. Fast containment limits blast radius so ransomware, account takeover, or data exposure does not run the clock unopposed.

  • Recovery is the goal

    Response is not only stopping the attack. It is restoring operations with a clear path back to a known-good state your business can trust.

  • Ready before the boom

    Playbooks, access, and decision rights prepared in advance so the first minutes of an incident are spent acting, not inventing a process.

Left and right of the boom

Both sides matter. Most teams only fund one.

Left of the boom is readiness and prevention. Right of the boom is reaction and recovery. EMPIST treats them as one continuum in support of getting the business back to work.

Left of the boom

Before impact. Shrink likelihood and blast radius so response starts from a stronger position.

  • Prepare. Roles, contacts, escalation paths, and evidence handling agreed before anything breaks. Who calls whom. What gets isolated first.
  • Prevent and harden. Identity, endpoints, email, and backup posture that shrink how often a boom happens, and how far it can go if it does.
  • Detect with intent. Monitoring and hunting tuned so signals reach people who can act. Detection without response is just a louder alert queue.

Right of the boom

After impact. Contain fast, clear the threat, restore operations, then harden what failed.

  • Contain. Stop the spread: isolate systems, revoke sessions, cut attacker paths. Minutes matter more than perfect forensics at this stage.
  • Eradicate. Remove persistence, malware, and abused access so the same foothold does not reopen the incident after you breathe.
  • Recover. Restore services and data to agreed targets. Business operations come back online with clear ownership and communication.
  • Learn and harden. After-action findings turn into stronger controls left of the boom, so the next attempt hits a harder target.
Response phases

A clear path from first signal to recovery

Phases in order. Containment is not optional theater. It is how you protect the workday.

  • 01 · Triage

    Confirm severity, scope, and the first containment moves. Stop guessing who owns the next action.

  • 02 · Contain

    Limit spread across identity, endpoints, email, and cloud. Buy time without letting the attacker buy more.

  • 03 · Investigate and eradicate

    Find footholds and remove them. Preserve what leadership, insurers, and counsel may need.

  • 04 · Recover

    Restore systems and data against recovery targets. Communicate status as the business comes back online.

  • 05 · Harden

    Close the path that worked. Feed lessons into left-of-boom controls so maturity rises after every event.

Maturity and track record

Built to move under pressure

Incident response is a practiced capability. Not a PDF playbook you open for the first time during ransomware.

  • A mature response practice

    EMPIST has spent 26+ years helping businesses run technology under pressure. Incident response is treated as an operating capability, not a binder on a shelf.

  • 24/7/365 when the boom hits

    Coverage does not stop at 5 p.m. When identity, ransomware, or a breach path lights up, response is staffed to move.

  • Controls you can trust

    SOC 2 Type II and ISO 9001 reflect how we run our own practice: documented process, accountability, and repeatable execution when stakes are high.

Our approach

How EMPIST runs incident response

  • Decide fast, then deepen

    Containment first. Deep investigation second. That order protects the business while evidence is still preserved.

  • One accountable partner

    Identity, endpoints, cloud, and recovery stay coordinated. Fewer handoffs when every minute of confusion costs money.

  • Tied to defense in depth

    IR sits with EDR, ITDR, backup, and hardening so prevention and reaction reinforce each other instead of living in separate silos.

What's included

What you get with EMPIST incident response

  • Incident readiness and playbook development
  • 24/7/365 escalation path when an active incident hits
  • Rapid containment focused on limiting blast radius
  • Investigation, eradication, and recovery support
  • Communication guidance for leadership during the event
  • Post-incident hardening so the next boom is harder to land
Related

When you need the next step

Under Attack

Active incident right now. Emergency path for immediate help.

Learn more ›

Backup & Disaster Recovery

Monitored, tested recovery when restore is part of getting back online.

Learn more ›

Endpoint Detection & Response

Contain threats on devices before they become a company-wide boom.

Learn more ›
Incident response
Minutes matter.Contain first.

Left of the boom readiness. Right of the boom speed. Recovery that gets the business back online.

FAQ

Before you book a call

Boom framing, emergencies, and how IR fits recovery.

01What does left of the boom and right of the boom mean?
Left of the boom is everything before impact: prepare, prevent, and detect. Right of the boom is after impact: contain, eradicate, recover, and learn. Strong IR needs both. Prevention alone is not enough when something still gets through.
02We think we are under attack right now. What do we do?
Go to Under Attack immediately or call (866) 442-3018. Active incidents need containment first. This page is the service story; Under Attack is the emergency path.
03Is incident response only for after a breach?
No. Mature IR includes readiness left of the boom so response is faster when something happens. Waiting until the boom to invent a plan costs critical time.
04How does this relate to backup and disaster recovery?
IR stops and clears the threat path. Backup and disaster recovery restores data and systems. Together they support real recovery.
05Can we buy IR without full Managed IT?
Yes. IR can stand alone or sit inside a broader cybersecurity and Managed IT relationship. What matters in the moment is a clear escalation path and a team that already knows how to move.

Ready for incident response that moves at incident speed?

Tell us how you prepare today and what happens when something breaks. We will map readiness left of the boom and response that protects recovery.

24/7/365 · SOC 2 Type II · Speed to contain
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