Which process involves preparing for, detecting, and responding to security incidents?

The process that involves preparing for, detecting, and responding to security incidents is incident response. This process is essential for organizations as it outlines the steps to take when a security breach occurs, ensuring a structured approach to effectively manage situations that could compromise the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of information systems.

Incident response encompasses a variety of activities, such as creating an incident response plan, training personnel, establishing communication protocols, and conducting threat detection to identify potentially harmful activities in real time. The key aspect of incident response is not just about reacting to incidents, but also about preparation before an incident happens and maintaining the ability to respond quickly and effectively when one does occur.

While risk assessment focuses on identifying and evaluating risks to inform decision-making regarding security measures, and security audits are systematic evaluations of security policies, practices, and controls, neither of these processes primarily deals with the immediate response to incidents. System testing, on the other hand, involves evaluating the functionality, performance, and vulnerabilities of a system but does not address the management of actual security incidents after they have been detected. Thus, incident response stands out as the process specifically designed to handle security incidents from inception through to resolution.