The State requires comprehensive Incident Response (IR) services to effectively manage cybersecurity incidents and breaches impacting its systems and data. This involves securing timely, expert support to rapidly investigate, contain, eradicate, and recover from security incidents and breaches. To ensure the success of these critical engagements, the content that follows describes the essential components, capabilities, and collaboration framework the State requires from a Contractor. These requirements form the basis for evaluating an Offeror's ability to meet the State's incident response needs. A. Incident Response Retainer The State desires to establish an Incident Response Retainer with a Contractor for all services outlined in this Section 2.3. Offeror’s Proposal should: 1. Specify the terms and conditions of service activation and facilitate activation of digital forensics and incident response services in an emergency (24/7/365). 2. Include an incident response service response time SLA commitment of 4 hours for critical incidents, 8 hours for non-critical incidents. B. Containment and Eradication Services for Containment and Eradication focus on halting the progression of active security incidents and eliminating adversary presence, including but not limited to: 1. Isolation and Segmentation: Implement procedures to quickly isolate affected systems and network segments to prevent further spread. 2. Malware Analysis and Removal: Establish capabilities to analyze malware, develop removal tools, and deploy anti-malware solutions. 3. Data Recovery and Restoration: Ensure data integrity and confidentiality during recovery from backups or unaffected systems. 4. System Hardening and Patching: Harden systems and networks, promptly apply security patches, and implement configuration management. 5. Vulnerability Management: Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, prioritize remediation, and implement vulnerability management processes. 6. Threat Intelligence and IOCs: Gather and analyze threat intelligence, develop and share IOCs, and implement threat intelligence platforms. 7. Incident Documentation and Reporting: Document all actions and prepare detailed reports for stakeholders to include appropriate after action or root cause analysis...
