What action should an incident response team take first when alerted of a potential incident?

The most appropriate first action for an incident response team when alerted of a potential incident is to follow existing policies and procedures regarding incident containment. This choice is critical because incident response plans are established precisely to guide teams on how to react effectively and ensure a systematic approach to managing incidents. Such policies typically include steps for assessing the situation, containing the incident to prevent further damage, and documenting what has occurred.

Following established procedures helps to ensure that the response is well-coordinated, reduces the likelihood of making errors that could complicate the incident, and adheres to legal and regulatory requirements. Additionally, these procedures will often encompass guidelines for communication, resource allocation, and engagement with other stakeholders, which are essential for effective incident management.

While making a bit stream image of the hard drive can be an important part of evidence collection during an investigation, it should not be the very first step, as containment and assessment of the incident are crucial initially. Calling law enforcement may be necessary depending on the incident's nature and severity, but it typically occurs after initial containment and assessment have taken place. Notifying customers about a potential security breach is also important but usually occurs after containment activities and is done with careful consideration of the implications of such a communication.