Divide and rule in Incident Response

You know that old principle we all learned in programming — divide and rule? Break the big problem into smaller pieces, solve those, and the whole thing becomes manageable.

Well, guess what?

That same idea is a lifesaver in incident response. A massive breach can feel overwhelming, but if you chop it down into standard, repeatable tasks, suddenly it’s not this monster anymore. It’s just a list of jobs to get done.

Why Standard Tasks Matter

Here’s the trick: don’t let the investigation depend on who is working the case.

If Investigator A does a host triage one way and Investigator B does it completely differently, you’ll end up with confusion and wasted time.

But if everyone runs tasks the same way — and documents them properly — then anyone can pick up where the last person left off.

That means:

• You can swap people in and out without breaking the flow.

• You can bring in someone fresh for a few hours and know exactly what they’ll deliver.

• You don’t lose speed when people rotate shifts.

And here’s something I love: sometimes when you rotate people, that fresh pair of eyes notices something new that others missed. That’s the magic of collaboration.

Resources: More Than Just People

Now let’s talk about resources.

Most folks think resources = analysts.

But in IR, it’s bigger than that.

• Sure, you need responders, malware reversers, and intel analysts. But in big cases? You might also need enterprise architects (to help with recovery) or even negotiators (for ransomware).

• Don’t forget storage, bandwidth, and processing power.

• Tools are easy to buy but not easy to integrate. You can’t just toss in a new platform mid-incident and expect magic. Good processes and content take time to develop and test.

Here’s the kicker: resources don’t scale easily in IR. That’s why the IR lead’s job isn’t just running the case technically — it’s also managing these resources like a chess game.

Standardization Keeps the Chaos Out

This is where standardization saves your life. Don’t just throw bodies at the problem — that creates noise and costs money.

IR companies overstaff cases to cover. That only makes things worse.

Instead, plan tasks and shifts carefully. Here’s a simple example:

• Three analysts on 8-hour shifts.

• A host triage takes ~5 hours(for full image) ~2 hours (kape image) → each analyst can do two a day.

• Persistence or evidence stacking takes ~2.5 hours.

• Onboarding a new analyst? Budget ~2.5 hours.

If you manage the case close to this level of planning, the whole engagement runs smoother, faster, and cheaper. Deviations happen, but the goal is control, not chaos.

The Power of Task-Driven Questions

Here’s something : don’t deep-dive without a clear question.

If you throw an analyst at a hard drive with no direction, they’ll dig for days and still not know when to stop. That burns time, money, and morale.

Instead, assign tasks based on questions. For example:

• ❌ Inefficient: “Analyze this entire hard drive.”

• ✅ Efficient: “Find evidence of what data was exfiltrated from this host.”

The moment the question is answered, the task is complete. Of course, analysts should still look a little left and right for context, but they shouldn’t drift aimlessly.

This is how you keep investigations sharp, measurable, and efficient.

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Wrapping It Up

Do that, and even the biggest, nastiest breach starts to look manageable. You’re not just firefighting anymore — you’re running a structured, controlled investigation.

Because at the end of the day, IR isn’t about looking busy. It’s about restoring order in the middle of chaos.