Dynamic Incident Playbook Workflows for Cross-Department Risk Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing incident response systems, such as SOAR, are inadequate for responding to a wide variety of risks beyond cyber attacks, including natural disasters and equipment failures, due to the inability to define workflows for individual incidents, leading to insufficient cross-departmental responses and challenges in promptly recovering from damage and maintaining business KPIs.
Innovation Solution
An incident response system and method that generate and configure processing workflows based on a playbook database, selecting appropriate playbooks for individual risks, incorporating external systems and components, to respond to specific incidents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a static and fixed workflow defined in a playbook is used for incident response, then work standardization and semi-automation are achieved, but the system cannot respond to a wide variety of risks beyond cyber attacks including natural disasters and equipment failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the incident response capability into modular playbooks, each dedicated to a specific risk type (cyber attacks, natural disasters, equipment failures). Each playbook contains standardized procedures for that specific risk category, allowing the system to handle diverse risks through composition of discrete, manageable modules rather than requiring a single complex universal workflow.
Solution Approach 2:
The playbook management system provides universal functionality by enabling standardized response procedures to be defined once and reused across multiple incident types. The system allows playbooks to be composed and configured dynamically based on the specific incident, making the same infrastructure serve multiple risk categories without requiring separate systems for each risk type.
2Reliability
If conventional point solutions adopted by each business and department on an individual basis are used, then departmental autonomy is maintained, but adequate cross-departmental responses to wide-ranging risks are not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges previously siloed departmental incident response capabilities into a unified cross-departmental response platform. By combining playbooks from different departments and risk categories into a single configurable system, the platform enables coordinated responses that leverage resources and expertise across the entire organization rather than isolated departmental actions.
Solution Approach 2:
The playbook configuration system acts as an intermediary layer between individual departmental procedures and the overall incident response coordination. It mediates by allowing playbooks to reference and integrate procedures from multiple departments, enabling seamless cross-departmental collaboration without requiring direct complex inter-departmental negotiations during incidents.
3Adaptability or versatility
If IF-THEN rules are used to define workflows, then automation is simplified, but it becomes impossible to define workflows for many types of risks and situations
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static IF-THEN rules to dynamic playbook configuration where workflows can be flexibly assembled based on incident characteristics. Playbooks contain conditional logic and decision points that adapt the response workflow dynamically based on the specific incident type, severity, and context, enabling automation for diverse risk scenarios without requiring complex pre-programmed rules for every possible situation.
Data Source
AI summary
An incident response system and an incident response method [that] are able to generate and configure a processing workflow that includes a combination of external systems and individual processing components depending on the type of risk in order to respond to individual incidents. The incident response system, which responds to the individual incidents, includes a playbook DB, a playbook selection section, a workflow generation section, and a workflow engine section. The playbook DB stores processing workflows which are response flows for incidents of risks, as playbooks for individual types of risks. The playbook selection section acquires incident information regarding an incident that has occurred or appears to occur, and extracts a corresponding one of the playbooks that is appropriate for the incident from the playbooks created for the individual types of risks. The workflow generation section generates the processing workflows appropriate for the individual incidents incident.