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Most data breaches we see in the headlines are the biggest – but a security incident doesn’t need to be of Equifax proportions to bring down a company. Impact is relative to business size.

“The vast majority of breaches are small [and] don’t get much attention,” said Suzanne Widup, senior analyst at Verizon Enterprise Solutions, during a talk at the recent RSA Conference in San Francisco. “The impact is going to depend on the resources of the company.”

To illustrate, she compared a cyber disaster to a natural disaster: If a small tornado descends on a small town, recovery won’t be the same as it would be for a large metropolis. Similarly, a breach that would make a major enterprise “barely pause” could shut down a small business.

While the incident response process is different for large businesses versus small ones, there are key components all companies should keep in mind when reacting to a data breach. Discussing the details of breach response was a common trend throughout this year’s RSA Conference, with experts across industries, roles, and company sizes sharing their thoughts on the process.

Less than two weeks after RSAC concluded, the security community watched the response to a major cyberattack unfold when Norsk Hydro, a major producer of alumium, was hit with LockerGoga ransomware. Since it first disclosed the attack, Norsk has demonstrated a level of preparedness and transparency that indicates it was equipped to handle a cybersecurity incident of this magnitude.

Here, we shed light on the key takeaways from conversations and conference sessions related to breach response, from initial detection through the legal details. Are there any lessons learned you’d add to our list? Feel free to continue the conversation in the Comments section, below.

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Kelly Sheridan is the Staff Editor at Dark Reading, where she focuses on cybersecurity news and analysis. She is a business technology journalist who previously reported for InformationWeek, where she covered Microsoft, and Insurance Technology, where she covered financial … View Full Bio