What is Incident Response Plan?
An Incident Response Plan is a written playbook that defines who does what when a security incident is detected - preventing the chaotic, expensive scramble that turns small incidents into big ones.
A typical Incident Response Plan covers six phases: Preparation, Identification, Containment, Eradication, Recovery, and Lessons Learned. It names the Incident Response Team (typically the IT lead, a leadership decision-maker, an external counsel contact, an IT vendor contact, and an outside counsel or incident-response contact) and specifies escalation criteria.
security reviewers increasingly require an IRP as a prerequisite for coverage. The 2026 renewal questionnaires ask whether you have one and whether it's been tested via tabletop exercise in the last 12 months.
The plan needs to be physical (printed copy in the office) AND digital - many incidents take down email and chat, so a Slack-only plan is unreachable when you need it most.
Why it matters for Florida small business
When ransomware hits at 2am, you don't want to be googling 'what do I do' - you want to follow a checklist that names the people to call.
What to do
Adopt a 1-page Incident Response Plan, print it, and tape it inside the front-office cabinet. Start with a one-page checklist, then rehearse it before you need it.