In a challenging security landscape, organisations are under constant pressure to balance the costs and practical demands of achieving long-term cyber resilience.
A cyber incident response retainer can help businesses to better manage both the financial and security risks posed by constantly evolving threats. This article outlines the benefits of the retainer model and also covers what organisations should look for in a potential provider.
What is an incident response retainer?
An incident response retainer is a structured agreement between an organisation and a security services provider, where the provider’s response services are on hand in the event of a cyber incident.
One version of this model is a zero-dollar retainer where a service provider outlines how they will help the organisation respond to an incident if and when it occurs. Another type is a prepaid retainer, in which the company pays in advance for an agreed number of hours or credits, which can then be used to respond to cyber incidents.
Some prepaid retainers go a step further, allowing credits to be used on other cybersecurity services, when incident response is not required.
Incident response retainer benefits
An incident response retainer offers a number of advantages to businesses, including:
Faster response to incidents
With an incident response retainer in place, organisations are able to respond to and mitigate security incidents more effectively and at a faster pace. As a result, they can safeguard their assets, infrastructure and reputation more comprehensively. A cyber incident response retainer also reduces the risks of having to source and implement security services during a major incident affecting multiple businesses.
Improved cost management
A high quality cyber incident retainer ensures that companies can manage their cyber security costs more efficiently because it provides a structured way for them to pay, delivering better value for money. This model also means that they can benefit from swift and efficient response and expert advice as and when they need it, rather than having to spend time shopping around for help when trying to deal with a security incident.
Timely breach notification
The requirement to notify affected parties after a cyber incident at pace is a key aspect of many privacy and consumer protection laws. The retainer model allows companies to achieve this more easily. It also removes the risks of having to find expert communication support in the event of a major attack affecting many organisations at the same time.
Strategic incident response planning
Ensuring a swift and impactful response to a cyber incident can be critical to an organisation’s survival. Yet the process is fraught with unknowns and potential risks. Having a clear incident response plan in place during an incident allows businesses to take more decisive action at the right time. As well as delivering key short-term expertise for addressing a security event, a high quality incident response retainer can provide long-term support, helping to significantly enhance security and provide more peace of mind.
Access to related security services
A good incident response retainer will offer other preparedness and resilience services in addition to incident response. Depending on the provider, other types of services that could be included within a retainer could include penetration testing, threat modelling and ransomware preparedness. By gaining access to other forms of related support from the same company, businesses can accelerate and enhance the way they address key security challenges.
Proactive security response
Rather than relying on reactive services from a range of providers, a cyber retainer allows businesses to benefit from proactive support with protecting their operations, reputation and bottom line. This way, they can ensure that they are better prepared to take action in response to many types of security threats.
What to look for in a retainer provider
While incident response retainers offer some key common benefits, the quality and breadth of service they offer varies widely. Because of this, it is essential to assess which provider will best suit your requirements.
A good incident response provider will ensure that their retainer is both robust and flexible, with the capacity to deliver expert support to successfully contain and remediate an incident. You should also ensure that your prospective provider is able to deliver all the rapid response services required to enable you to act effectively in the event of an emergency.
Alongside this, your potential provider should offer a wide choice of services within their retainer and be adaptable to your priorities and environment, regardless of your technology stack.
How Kroll can help
At Kroll, we offer an unrivalled incident response retainer by bringing together elite digital forensics and incident response capabilities with maximum flexibility for proactive and notification services.
A Kroll cyber risk retainer guarantees expedited response as well as notification and proactive services to minimise the impact of an incident. Our retainer options enable organisations to maximise the value of cyber security investments through upfront pricing and service structure.
Our customisable cyber risk retainer provides digital forensics, incident response and offensive capabilities on demand. From preparedness services to breach response, Kroll’s services are flexible and configurable to the needs of your environment, regardless of the technologies you use. Because our cyber risk retainer offers transparent pricing, you benefit from tangible value for your retainer investment and the peace of mind of knowing you can depend on Kroll’s prioritised response and global resources in a crisis.
