The MSP guide to incident response planning with 6clicks

 

TL;DR

 

Incident response planning is a compliance requirement across almost every major framework — and a high-value service MSPs can deliver and maintain on behalf of clients. 6clicks provides the platform to build, document, and test incident response capability. 

Why incident response planning is non-negotiable

Every major GRC framework requires organisations to have a documented incident response plan: ISO 27001 (Annex A control 5.26), SOC 2 (CC7.4), NIST CSF (Respond function), Essential Eight (incident response requirement), NIS2, and DORA all mandate it. Cyber insurers require it. Regulators expect it.

And yet, many organisations — particularly SMEs — don't have a properly documented, tested incident response plan. When an incident occurs, the response is improvised, inconsistent, and poorly documented. This leads to slower recovery, greater financial impact, and difficulty demonstrating to regulators that reasonable care was taken.

For managed service providers (MSPs), this gap is a service opportunity.

What a comprehensive incident response plan includes

A properly structured incident response plan covers:

• Scope and objectives — what types of incidents are covered and what outcomes the plan is designed to achieve
• Roles and responsibilities — who is responsible for what during an incident, including escalation paths
• Incident classification — how incidents are categorised by type and severity
• Detection and reporting — how incidents are identified and how they are reported internally and externally
• Containment and eradication — steps to limit damage and remove the threat
• Recovery — how normal operations are restored
• Post-incident review — how lessons are captured and acted upon
• Communication templates — pre-drafted communications for internal, client, regulator, and media scenarios

How 6clicks supports incident response planning

6clicks includes incident response policy templates and issue and incident management capabilities. MSPs can:

• Maintain and version-control the client's incident response plan in the 6clicks policy library
• Log and track incidents against the plan using the incident management module
• Link incidents to risk register entries to identify systemic issues
• Generate incident summary reports for regulators, insurers, or boards
• Document post-incident reviews and track follow-on actions to closure

Structuring IRP services as a managed offering

Incident response planning services can be offered as a project (building the initial plan) followed by a retainer (maintaining, testing, and updating the plan annually). Tabletop exercises — facilitated simulations of incident scenarios — add further value and recurring revenue.

Frequently asked questions

Next step

Ready to deliver incident response planning services? Become a 6clicks partner and help clients respond with confidence.