What Incident Response & Recovery Includes:

We structure this service around four core outcomes:

1. Rapid Breach Containment

First priority: stop the bleeding.

As soon as we’re engaged, our team moves to:

• Identify and isolate impacted systems – infected endpoints, compromised user accounts, affected servers, or cloud resources.
• Disable malicious access – reset or revoke credentials, enforce MFA, block malicious IPs/domains, and shut down risky services or ports.
• Stabilize critical services – keep or bring back the minimum needed systems so your organization can continue operating where possible.

We coordinate closely with your internal IT or external MSP, giving clear instructions and support so containment happens quickly and in a controlled way.

Outcome: The attack’s spread is limited, and attackers lose their foothold as quickly as possible.

2. Forensic Investigation & Root-Cause Analysis

You need to know what happened, not just that something went wrong.

Once immediate risk is under control, we shift into forensic investigation:

• Timeline reconstruction – when the incident began, how it progressed, and when it was discovered.
• Attack vector analysis – how the attacker got in (phishing, stolen credentials, vulnerable system, misconfiguration, insider misuse, etc.).
• Scope of impact – what systems were touched, what data may have been accessed, modified, or exfiltrated.
• Regulatory and notification implications – whether the incident triggers obligations under Canadian privacy laws or contractual requirements.

We base our approach on established incident handling guidance, such as NIST SP 800-61, which emphasizes thorough analysis and informed decision-making as key parts of an effective response. NIST Computer Security Resource Center+1

Deliverables may include:

• A concise executive summary of what happened.
• A technical report with indicators of compromise (IOCs), affected systems, and recommended remediation steps.
• Supporting information for legal counsel, regulators, insurers, or law enforcement, where appropriate.
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3. System Restoration & Business Continuity

Getting you safely back online is just as important as stopping the attack.

After we contain and understand the incident, we guide you through secure recovery:

• Backup & restore strategy – identifying clean restore points, validating backup integrity, and restoring systems in a safe, staged manner.
• Rebuilding critical services – email, file servers, key business apps, Microsoft 365 and other cloud workloads.
• Hardening during recovery – applying patches, enabling MFA, tightening access controls, and improving monitoring as systems come back up.
• Business continuity support – helping prioritize which processes, locations, and teams need to be restored first based on business impact.

We design recovery decisions around your recovery time and recovery point objectives (RTO/RPO), with an eye on limiting downtime and preserving evidence where needed.

4. Post-Incident Improvement & Compliance Support

The incident should change how you operate—in a good way.

Once the dust settles, we don’t simply walk away. We help you turn a bad day into a stronger future posture:

• Lessons-learned workshop – walking stakeholders through what happened, what worked, and what needs to change.
• Control enhancements – process and technology improvements, often feeding directly into our Security Assessments and Managed Protection services.
• Policy and documentation updates – incident response plans, access control procedures, backup and DR runbooks, and communication templates.
• Evidence & reporting for third parties – support with regulators, insurers, or major customers who request details on your incident and response.

This post-incident work is critical: studies consistently show that organizations with mature incident response and tested recovery plans see significantly lower breach costs and faster containment times. IBM+1

Typical Scenarios We Handle

Our Incident Response & Recovery service is designed for a wide range of events, including:

• Ransomware and encryption attacks
• Business email compromise (BEC) and account takeover
• Phishing incidents that lead to credential theft or malware infections
• Data exposure or unauthorized access in cloud apps like Microsoft 365 or other SaaS platforms
• Malicious or negligent insider activity
• Compromised servers, endpoints, or remote access solutions

For each scenario, we balance technical remediation with business, legal, and reputational considerations, helping you make informed choices throughout the response.

How the Engagement Works

Whether you’re calling us in the middle of an incident or proactively arranging coverage, the process is simple:

1. Triage & Initial Call

• Understand what you’re seeing, what systems are affected, and any immediate safety or continuity concerns.
• Provide initial containment steps right away (often within that first conversation).

1. Stabilize & Contain

• Coordinate with your IT/MSP to isolate affected systems and accounts.
• Ensure backups and logs are preserved as needed for investigation.

1. Investigate & Inform

• Conduct forensic analysis and log review.
• Clarify impact on data, systems, and compliance obligations.
• Provide regular updates to leadership in plain language.

1. Recover & Harden

• Restore systems from clean sources, with enhanced security controls.
• Validate that the threat has been eradicated.
• Implement priority improvements to prevent a repeat.

1. Review & Plan Forward

• Deliver final reports and recommendations.
• Optionally transition into ongoing Managed Protection and Security Assessments to reduce risk long term. prairiecybersecurity.com
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Who This Service Is For

Incident Response & Recovery is ideal for:

• Small and mid-sized Manitoba organizations that don’t have a dedicated internal security team but must respond quickly and correctly.
• Businesses under regulatory or contractual pressure to demonstrate due diligence after an incident.
• Organizations already working with an IT provider that need specialized security expertise during a crisis.
• Leaders who want a trusted, plain-language guide through a stressful event—someone who can interface with IT, legal, insurers, and executives.+

Why Partner with Prairie Cyber Security

• Local, SMB-focused – We understand the realities of Prairie businesses: limited time, lean teams, and the need to get back to normal operations quickly. prairiecybersecurity.com
• End-to-end capability – Assessment, protection, incident response, and recovery are all part of one integrated approach—not a patchwork of vendors.
• Framework-aligned, business-first – We align with recognized standards like NIST, but keep the focus on your operations, your customers, and your reputation. Cynet
• Clear communication – We translate technical events into business impact and practical options, so leadership can make confident decisions.
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If You’re Experiencing an Incident Right Now

If you suspect a breach, ransomware, or any other cyber incident:

1. Do not ignore it or “wait and see.”
2. Limit changes to affected systems until we advise you (to preserve evidence).
3. Contact Prairie Cyber Security immediately for emergency incident response support.

If you’re not currently under attack but want to be ready:

Book a free Incident Response & Recovery consultation to:

• Review your current preparedness
• Discuss IR retainers and response options
• Build a realistic recovery plan before you need it

So that when something does go wrong, you’re not starting from scratch—you already have a partner, a plan, and a path to recovery.