IRO-26: Post-Incident Technology Assets, Applications and Services (TAAS) Validation

IRO 8 — High Recover

Mechanisms exist to utilize post-incident assurance activities to validate Technology Assets, Applications and Services (TAAS) are (1) Secure; (2) Compliant; and (3) Capable of supporting the resumption of normal business operations.

Control Question: Does the organization utilize post-incident assurance activities to validate Technology Assets, Applications and Services (TAAS) are (1) Secure; (2) Compliant; and (3) Capable of supporting the resumption of normal business operations?

US (2)

Framework	Mapping Values
USA Federal DoW BaTB OT 2026	4
USA Federal NRC 10 CFR 73.54 2015	73.54(e)(2)(iii) 73.54(e)(2)(iv)

APAC (1)

Framework	Mapping Values
APAC Australia CCM 2026	REC-02 REC-01

Capability Maturity Model

Level 0 — Not Performed

Practices are non-existent, based on the inability to demonstrate an implemented and operational capability. A reasonable person would conclude the control is not being performed.

Level 1 — Performed Informally

Incident Response (IRO) domain capabilities are ad hoc and inconsistent. Capability criteria associated with this control may include: ▪ Policies, standards & procedures associated with IRO domain capabilities provide limited coverage due to the depth and breadth of the existing documentation. ▪ Incident response-related activities are decentralized (e.g., a localized/regionalized function) and uses non-standardized methods to implement secure, resilient and compliant practices. ▪ IT and/or cybersecurity personnel use an informal process to facilitate incident management operations that cover preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication and recovery. ▪ Informal Root Cause Analysis (RCA) are performed to address insufficiencies in existing processes to prevent reoccurrences.

Level 2 — Planned & Tracked

Incident Response (IRO) capabilities are requirements-driven, but are not standardized across the entity (e.g., local/regional level consistency). Capability criteria associated with this control reasonably expect the following criteria to exist: ▪ Policies and standards associated with IRO domain capabilities are formally documented and centrally-managed by the entity. ▪ Standardized Operating Procedures (SOP) associated with DCH domain capabilities are documented and maintained by process owners. ▪ IT and/or cybersecurity personnel work with business stakeholders and process owners to appropriately scope and reasonably implement cybersecurity and data protection controls associated with IRO domain capabilities to address applicable statutory, regulatory and/or contractual requirements for Technology Assets, Applications, Services and/or Data (TAASD). ▪ Incident response-related controls are primarily administrative and preventative in nature (e.g., policies, standards and procedures & guidelines). ▪ Incident response management may be a defined function (e.g., team or department) or assigned as an additional duty to existing IT and/or cybersecurity personnel. ▪ IT and/or cybersecurity personnel operate an incident response capability using a documented and tested Incident Response Plan (IRP) to facilitate incident management operations that cover preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication and recovery.

Level 3 — Well Defined

Incident Response (IRO) capabilities are standardized across the entity for applicability to People, Processes, Technologies, Data and/or Facilities (PPTDF) to ensure consistency for Technology Assets, Applications, Services and/or Data (TAASD). Capability criteria associated with this control reasonably expect the following criteria to exist: ▪ Policies and standards associated with IRO domain capabilities are formally documented and centrally-managed by the entity's Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) team, or similar function. ▪ Cybersecurity personnel operate an incident response capability using a documented and tested Incident Response Plan (IRP) to facilitate incident management operations that cover preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication and recovery. ▪ An incident response team, or similar function, is appropriately staffed and supported to implement and maintain IRO domain capabilities. ▪ Technology is leveraged to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of incident response operations (e.g., incident management software). ▪ The entity's Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) team, or similar function, works with business stakeholders and process owners to appropriately scope and reasonably implement cybersecurity and data protection controls associated with IRO domain capabilities to address Minimum Compliance Requirements (MCR) (e.g., applicable statutory, regulatory and/or contractual requirements) and Discretionary Security Requirements (DSR) (e.g., entity-required controls).

Level 4 — Quantitatively Controlled

Utilize SCR-CMM Level 3 criteria definitions: ▪ There are no defined Level 4 criteria, since it is reasonable to assume a quantitatively-controlled process is not necessary to operationalize this control. ▪ While it may be possible to develop “metrics-driven” capabilities for this control, the criteria would be organization-specific to define.

Level 5 — Continuously Improving

Utilize SCR-CMM Level 3 or Level 4 (if available) criteria definitions: ▪ There are no defined Level 5 criteria, since it is reasonable to assume a continuously-improving process is not necessary to operationalize this control. ▪ Level 5 capabilities should be considered “world-class” where the control builds on Level 4 capabilities, but are continuously improving through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and/or Machine Learning (ML) technologies. ▪ While it may be possible to develop responsive capabilities for this control through the use of AI and/or ML technologies, the criteria would be organization-specific to define.

Assessment Objectives

IRO-26_A01 post-incident assurance activities (e.g., vulnerability scanning, configuration review, integrity verification and control testing) are performed on affected Technology Assets, Applications and Services (TAAS) before they are returned to normal business operations.
IRO-26_A02 post-incident assurance activities validate that affected Technology Assets, Applications and Services (TAAS) are secure, including that the exploited weakness has been remediated and no indicators of compromise remain.
IRO-26_A03 post-incident assurance activities validate that affected Technology Assets, Applications and Services (TAAS) are compliant with applicable security, compliance and resilience requirements.
IRO-26_A04 post-incident assurance activities validate that affected Technology Assets, Applications and Services (TAAS) are capable of supporting the resumption of normal business operations.
IRO-26_A05 the results of post-incident assurance activities, including the approval to return affected Technology Assets, Applications and Services (TAAS) to normal business operations, are documented and retained.

Evidence Requirements

E-IRO-13 Incident Response Records: Documented evidence of records of response to cybersecurity and/or data protection incidents.
Incident Response

Technology Recommendations

Micro/Small

Post-incident checklist: patched, passwords reset, antivirus scan clean, owner confirms operations restored

Small

Post-incident validation checklist
Vulnerability scan and configuration check before return to service
Business owner sign-off

Medium

Documented return-to-service criteria in the IRP
Vulnerability scanning and baseline comparison
Threat hunt for residual indicators
Business owner acceptance

Large

Formal post-incident assurance procedure
EDR/XDR verification of eradication
Configuration compliance re-validation (e.g., CIS benchmarks)
Compliance impact assessment

Enterprise

Enterprise post-incident assurance process integrated with IR and GRC
Automated compliance re-validation of affected systems
Independent verification (e.g., internal audit or third-party IR firm)
Formal executive approval for return to operations