The DOJ Sets Out To Establish Standard For Data Security Incident Response And Preparation

Organizations face threats to their data from all fronts, from sophisticated external attacks by hackers to employee error (as the 2015 BakerHostetler Incident Response Report showed). Recognizing the prevalence of these incidents, the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently issued a guidance document intended to help organizations prepare for a data security incident. The document, titled "Best Practices for Victim Response and Reporting of Cyber Incidents," is derived from the DOJ's experiences investigating and prosecuting cybercriminals. The Guidelines focus primarily on the proactive and reactive measures a company may take with a data breach. First, the Guidelines provide detailed suggested best practices for data breach incident preparation, which are summarized as follows: