Incident response is a structured approach to addressing and managing the aftermath of a security breach or cyberattack, also known as an 'incident.' The goal is to handle the situation in a way that limits damage and reduces recovery time and costs. An effective incident response plan can aid in preventing future incidents and can turn a potentially disastrous event into a manageable one. It usually involves a set of well-defined processes and functions to detect, analyze, contain, eradicate, and recover from security incidents. The activities are often carried out by a dedicated incident response team consisting of IT professionals, security experts, legal advisors, and communication specialists. Organizations develop and maintain incident response protocols as part of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, aimed not just at immediate containment but also long-term risk mitigation.