What is Incident Response?
When an incident happens, every hour matters — are you ready?
Incident response is both a discipline and a capability. Done well, it means your organization has a tested plan, a trained team, and an experienced executive ready to lead — before a breach ever occurs. Done poorly, it means scrambling in the dark while regulators, attorneys, and the press are already asking questions.
At Coastal Cyber Risk Advisors, incident response work spans two distinct areas: proactive program development — building and testing your response capabilities before you need them — and active breach response — standing beside your leadership team when an incident is unfolding and every decision carries regulatory and reputational consequences.
Stephen has led real-world incident response at enterprise scale — coordinating with federal law enforcement, the FBI, forensic firms, legal counsel, and regulatory bodies. That experience is what your organization gets when it matters most.
Most organizations aren't prepared
The majority of mid-market organizations have no documented incident response plan, no tested communication protocols, and no designated leadership roles for a cybersecurity crisis. Regulators and cyber insurers are increasingly aware of this gap.
The cost of an unplanned response is severe
Organizations without a tested incident response plan take significantly longer to contain breaches, face higher regulatory penalties, and suffer greater reputational damage than those with mature response capabilities in place.
Regulators require a documented IR program
HIPAA, GLBA, NCUA, and FFIEC all require documented incident response programs with defined roles, tested procedures, and evidence of regular testing. Non-compliance carries significant examination risk.
Experience matters when it's real
Stephen has led incident response at enterprise scale — coordinating with the FBI, federal law enforcement, forensic firms, legal counsel, and regulatory bodies. When a real incident unfolds, that experience is invaluable.
Two Sides of the Service
Prepare before. Lead during. Recover after.
Our incident response work covers both sides of the equation — building your capabilities before an incident occurs, and providing experienced executive leadership when one does.
Program Development & Readiness
Build the response capabilities your organization needs before an incident occurs. A well-designed, tested incident response program reduces breach impact, satisfies regulatory requirements, and gives your leadership team the confidence to act decisively under pressure.
What's Included
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Incident Response Plan Development — A comprehensive, organization-specific IR plan with defined roles, escalation paths, communication protocols, and regulatory notification procedures
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Tabletop Exercises — Realistic, scenario-based exercises that test your team's response to ransomware, data breaches, business email compromise, and other high-likelihood threats
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Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery — BC/DR program alignment ensuring your infrastructure, application resilience, and recovery objectives are documented and tested
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Security Policy Development — Complete policy suite development including incident response, data classification, access control, vendor risk, and acceptable use policies
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Regulatory Compliance Alignment — IR program design aligned to HIPAA, GLBA, NCUA, and FFIEC incident response and notification requirements
Typical Engagement
3–4 weeks for IR plan development & tabletop exercise · $8,000–$15,000
Active Breach Response & Recovery
When an incident is actively unfolding, you need an experienced executive who has been here before — someone who can lead your response, coordinate forensic and legal resources, manage regulatory notification, and communicate clearly with your board and leadership team under pressure.
What's Included
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Breach Response Leadership — Direct executive leadership of your incident response — coordinating containment, investigation, and recovery efforts across IT, legal, HR, and operations
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Forensic Coordination — Management of digital forensics firms and technical investigation resources — ensuring proper evidence preservation and chain of custody
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Regulatory Notification — Guidance on HIPAA breach notification, GLBA/NCUA reporting obligations, and state notification requirements — with legally informed timelines and documentation
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Board & Executive Communications — Clear, accurate, legally appropriate communications to your board, leadership team, and key stakeholders throughout the incident lifecycle
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Post-Incident Analysis & Recovery — Root cause analysis, lessons learned documentation, and a remediation roadmap to prevent recurrence and strengthen defenses
Typical Engagement
Engagement-based · $5,000–$25,000+ depending on scope and duration
Who Needs This
Does any of this sound familiar?
Incident response services are right for you if your organization is in any of these situations.
You have no documented IR plan
Your organization has never formally documented what happens when a breach occurs — who leads, who communicates, who notifies regulators, and in what timeframe. HIPAA, GLBA, and NCUA all require this documentation.
An audit or exam is coming up
Your HIPAA audit, NCUA exam, or cyber insurance renewal is approaching and your incident response program isn't documented, tested, or examiner-ready. We can get you there quickly with a focused engagement.
Your team has never run a tabletop exercise
You have an IR plan on paper but your leadership team has never actually tested it under realistic conditions. Tabletop exercises expose the gaps that documents can't — and regulators increasingly expect annual testing.
You're dealing with an active breach right now
A breach is actively unfolding and you need experienced executive leadership immediately — someone who can take control of the response, coordinate forensic and legal resources, and manage regulatory notification obligations.
You're facing regulatory scrutiny post-breach
A breach has occurred and regulators are asking questions. You need experienced guidance on how to respond to HHS OCR, NCUA, or state regulators — and a remediation roadmap that demonstrates your organization is taking corrective action.
Cyber insurance requires a documented IR program
Your cyber insurance carrier is requiring evidence of a documented, tested incident response program as a condition of coverage or renewal. We can build and document your program to meet carrier requirements quickly.
Experiencing an active incident right now?
Don't wait. Reach Stephen directly at (239) 841-1793 or email sales@coastalcyberrisk.com
I've coordinated with the FBI, federal law enforcement, forensic firms, legal counsel, and regulators during real-world incidents. When a breach is unfolding, the decisions your leadership team makes in the first 24 hours will define the outcome. That's not the time to figure it out as you go.
Stephen has led incident response at enterprise scale across healthcare systems, financial institutions, and regulated technology organizations. He established the enterprise incident response framework at The Ohio State University — an institution of 110,000+ students and staff including a major academic medical center — and has coordinated high-profile security incidents alongside university leadership, legal counsel, and federal law enforcement.
At Rogers Behavioral Health, he built and operationalized 24/7 security operations with continuous monitoring, threat detection, and incident response processes — including playbooks, tabletop exercises, and cross-functional escalation to clinical, operations, legal, and executive stakeholders.