What is the primary goal of incident response?

The primary goal of incident response is to manage and mitigate the impact of a security incident. This process involves a series of structured steps aimed at quickly addressing and resolving security events that threaten an organization's information systems. By effectively managing these incidents, organizations can minimize any damage, reduce recovery time and costs, and ensure that normal operations are restored as quickly as possible.

When an incident occurs, the response team's actions should be coordinated and systematic, focusing on containing the incident, eradicating the threat, recovering systems, and implementing lessons learned to prevent future occurrences. This proactive approach is essential for maintaining the integrity and security of the organization's data, ultimately helping to safeguard its reputation and operational capacity. The success of an incident response directly influences the organization’s resilience and ability to continue functioning under adverse conditions.

While the other options might seem relevant to security concerns, they do not encapsulate the overall purpose of incident response. Identifying vulnerabilities, maintaining business continuity, and monitoring network performance are important aspects of cybersecurity management but are not the primary focus during an incident response.