Post-Incident Review: How to Turn Cyber Attacks into Learning Opportunities

You’ve heard the line: it’s not if a cyber attack occurs, but when.

So, it happened. Your team responded, resolved the issue, and cleaned up the environment. Now what? Is it time to get back to business as usual?

Not quite.

Now is the time to turn the incident into a learning opportunity, and in some cases, a legal requirement. 

In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission enacted new disclosure rules for public companies. Within four business days of a material cybersecurity incident, companies must disclose key details to investors, including:

• What happened (type of incident)
• When it occured
• How bad it was (impact on finances, operations, or data)
• What it’s doing about it (remediation efforts)

Even if your organization isn’t publicly traded, reviewing these elements, along with technical details, as part of a post-incident review is a smart and strategic move.

Post-incident review: What is it?

A post-incident review is a structured meeting held shortly after a cybersecurity incident, ideally within seven days of closure. The purpose? To understand what happened, evaluate the response, and identify ways to strengthen your security program going forward.

These meetings bring together incident responders and key stakeholders. A facilitator should guide the conversation through a clear agenda, while a project manager or notetaker captures takeaways and action items.

Key elements of a post-incident review

To get the most value from your review, be sure to cover the following core areas:

• Root cause analysis
• Response performance evaluation
• Impact analysis
• Lessons learned / next steps

1. Root cause analysis

Understanding how and why the incident happened is critical. This often involves asking tough questions:

• What gaps or weaknesses contributed to the attack?
• Were the right tools in place?
• Could existing tools have been better configured or monitored?

2. Response performance evaluation

It’s important for the affected organization to accurately and truthfully evaluate how the incident was managed. This is not about assigning blame. It’s about improving your response for next time.

• What went well during the response?
• What could have been done better?
• Were documented processes followed? Were there any gaps?
• Were SLAs or response times met? If not, why?

And because communication is essential during an incident:

• Did teams communicate effectively under pressure?
• Were roles and responsibilities clearly understood and followed?

3. Impact analysis

Cyber incidents can cause measurable and immeasurable damage. Each area of damage should be fully analyzed:

Financial

This includes direct losses (e.g., stolen funds, regulatory fines, contract penalties) as well as indirect costs (e.g., lost sales during downtime, reduced efficiency). Part of the post-incident review should include an estimate of the overall financial impact to report to executive management.

Reputational

Was there media coverage or customer backlash? Your communications or PR team should assess reputational impact and prepare a response plan if needed.

Productivity

Were employees unable to work due to account lockouts or system downtime? Even if hard to quantify, it’s important to review and discuss future workarounds.

4. Lessons learned / next steps

After examining the cause, response, and impacts, identify clear next steps. Each action item should have:

• A designated owner
• A timeline for completion
• A plan for follow-up

Once key changes are in place, conduct a tabletop exercise to test the updated processes, with special attention to the incident that triggered the review.

Why post-incident reviews matter

Post-incident reviews can transform high-stress moments into opportunities for growth. Incidents often reveal exactly where your defenses fall short. Use that clarity to your advantage.

Learning opportunity #1: Improve your response

If a cyber attack succeeded once, it could happen again, unless you adjust. Even with new defenses, future attacks may succeed in different ways. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s resilience.

• Can your team respond faster?
• Can communication be improved?
• Can your processes be tightened?

Learning opportunity #2: Reduce risk

Some risks may have been invisible before the incident. Now, with the benefit of hindsight and analysis, you can close gaps in your tools, policies, and processes.

Learning opportunity #3: Build a learning culture: 

Blame doesn’t help anyone. A productive review creates a culture of learning, where employees are more vigilant, systems are better secured, and your overall program matures.

Prepare now – before the next incident!

Your organization likely has an incident response plan, but do you have a plan for what comes after?

Don’t wait until after an attack to scramble through your review process. Plan now to ensure your post-incident review is structured, actionable, and valuable.

If you’re ready to strengthen your response and resilience, we’re here to help. Book a 15-minute meeting with us to start building a smarter, stronger security program today.