200-201 Security Policies and Procedures Practice Question
During which phase of the NIST SP 800-61 Rev 2 incident response process does an organization develop an incident response plan and assemble a team?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Preparation
The Preparation phase includes developing the IR plan, team, tools, and conducting exercises.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Containment, Eradication, and Recovery
Why it's wrong here
Containment, Eradication, and Recovery executes the plan against a live incident: isolating hosts, removing artefacts and restoring services. It is tempting because these phases are highly visible and resource-intensive, yet they consume the plan and team rather than create them, which happens during Preparation.
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Detection and Analysis
Why it's wrong here
Detection and Analysis covers monitoring, triage and validating whether an event is genuinely an incident; it assumes a plan and team already exist. It is tempting because detection work does identify incidents, but plan creation and team assembly belong to Preparation, which this phase follows rather than performs.
- ✓
Preparation
Why this is correct
Preparation is the first NIST SP 800-61 Rev 2 phase, covering creation of the incident response plan, team structure, tools and training before any incident occurs. It directly satisfies the stem's requirement for the phase where planning and team assembly happen.
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Post-Incident Activity
Why it's wrong here
Post-Incident Activity covers reviewing the incident and improving defences after resolution, not building the plan or team beforehand. It is tempting because lessons learned do refine the plan, but preparation is the phase where the plan and team are established.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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