Incident Response Plan

1. Purpose

This document outlines the structured process Qubits Learning  will follow upon discovery of a security incident or data breach on the Qubits Learning Management System (LMS). It ensures timely detection, containment, analysis, mitigation, and recovery while minimizing impact on operations and protecting user data.

2. Scope

This plan applies to all employees, contractors, and systems that interact with Qubits LMS data and infrastructure, including internal IT, cloud infrastructure, APIs, and third-party integrations.

3. Incident Discovery & Initial Reporting

3.1 Discovery of an Incident

- Personnel Internal to Qubits Learning: Proceed directly to Section 4.
- Personnel Outside Qubits Learning: Immediately contact Qubits Learning at security@qubitsedu.com with the details of the incident.

3.2 Headquarters Response

The office manager will:
- Refer to the IT Emergency Contact List or Affected Department Contact List
- Call designated personnel in listed order
- Ensure the Security Office logs the following:
  - Name and contact info of the reporter
  - Time and date of the report
  - Description of the incident
  - People/equipment involved
  - Detection method and time
  - First signs of the incident

4. Escalation & Notification

The first responder or reporter (if internal to Qubits Learning) will:
- Refer to their Incident Response Contact List
- Notify designated management personnel and response team members
- Contact the Incident Response Manager (IRM) via email and phone
- Log additional data including:
  - Business-critical nature of affected system
  - Severity of impact
  - System name, OS, IP address, location
  - Information about attack origin, IP, etc.

5. Initial Assessment & Strategy Meeting

The response team will assess:
- Is the incident real or perceived?
- Is it ongoing?
- What data or system is threatened and how critical is it?
- Business impact: Minimal, Serious, or Critical
- Physical and network location of target systems
- Is the incident inside the trusted network?
- Urgency and containment feasibility
- Will the attacker be alerted by our response?
- Type of incident: Virus, Worm, Intrusion, DoS, Theft, Abuse, etc.

An Incident Ticket will be created and categorized as:
- Category 1 – Threat to sensitive data
- Category 2 – Threat to systems
- Category 3 – Disruption of services

6. Response Procedures

Initiate procedures based on incident type:
- Worm Response
- Virus Response
- Active/Inactive Intrusion
- System Failure
- System Abuse
- Property Theft
- Website or Database DoS
- Spyware Response

If no predefined response exists, a custom plan will be documented and later formalized.

7. Containment, Eradication, & Recovery

7.1 Investigation

- System and intrusion detection logs
- Interview witnesses
- Identify timeline and attack vector

7.2 Containment & Mitigation

- Isolate affected systems
- Disable unauthorized access
- Prevent lateral movement

7.3 System Restoration

- Reinstall systems and restore backups (preserve evidence first)
- Enforce password resets if needed
- Patch systems and disable unused services
- Enable real-time AV and intrusion detection
- Verify logging and monitoring levels

8. Documentation

Maintain detailed logs:
- Incident discovery method
- Classification and category
- Attack origin and method
- Systems affected and response steps taken
- Effectiveness of response

Preserve all relevant evidence securely until resolution and beyond if needed.

9. Legal and External Notifications

Notify law enforcement, data protection authorities, or regulators as required. Ensure compliance with laws like GDPR, CCPA if user data is impacted.

10. Post-Incident Review & Prevention

Evaluate:
- Incident avoidability
- Skipped/ineffective procedures
- Timeliness of communications
- Efficiency of containment and recovery
- Potential for future prevention

Update policies and enforce systemic changes including:
- Password resets
- Patch management
- Network and email filtering improvements

11. Review and Maintenance

This IRP shall be:
- Reviewed quarterly by the CTO and Privacy Department
- Updated based on new threats or changes
- Tested via simulated drills bi-annually

Questions?

To ask questions or comment on this Incident Response Plan, contact us at security@qubitsedu.com