ERP Security Incident Response Plan

Detection and Initial Assessment

, sudden spike in vendor master changes or after-hours payment batch processing). When an ERP security event is detected, the incident response team must rapidly assess severity, scope, and potential business impact to determine the appropriate response level.

• Configure SIEM detection rules for ERP-specific indicators: mass data export, repeated privilege escalation attempts, unauthorized admin actions
• Implement user behavior analytics baselines for ERP users detecting deviations in login times, transaction volumes, and accessed modules
• Monitor ERP configuration integrity detecting unauthorized changes to security settings, approval workflows, and financial parameters
• Classify incident severity using a 4-tier model: Critical (active data exfiltration), High (confirmed unauthorized access), Medium (suspicious activity), Low (policy violation)
• Establish 15-minute initial assessment SLA for Critical/High severity incidents with immediate escalation to incident commander

Containment and Forensic Investigation

Containment actions for ERP incidents must balance stopping the threat with maintaining business continuity. Containment strategies range from targeted (disable specific user accounts, block specific IP addresses) to broad (isolate ERP network segment, suspend external API access). Forensic investigation preserves evidence from ERP audit logs, database transaction logs, network traffic captures, and system access logs.

Evidence collection must follow chain-of-custody procedures to support potential legal proceedings.

• Implement tiered containment: disable compromised accounts immediately, block suspicious IPs within 30 minutes, isolate network segments if needed
• Preserve forensic evidence before containment actions: snapshot ERP database, export audit logs, capture network flows, image affected servers
• Analyze ERP audit trails to determine full scope: which users were compromised, which records were accessed or modified, and over what timeframe
• Review ION/integration logs to assess whether the incident propagated to connected systems through ERP integration channels
• For ERP system forensics, treat these as primary evidence sources: application audit logs, database transaction logs, authentication and role-change history, and integration or API logs
• Maintain chain-of-custody documentation for all forensic evidence collected including timestamps, collection method, and custodian identity

Recovery and Post-Incident Review

Recovery from an ERP security incident involves restoring system integrity, validating data accuracy, and returning to normal operations with enhanced controls. Before restoring service, the root cause must be identified and remediated to prevent recurrence. Data integrity validation compares affected records against backup snapshots to identify and reverse unauthorized modifications.

Post-incident review (within 14 days) documents lessons learned, control gaps, and improvement actions that feed into the organization's security program roadmap.

• Validate ERP data integrity by comparing affected records against pre-incident backup snapshots, reversing unauthorized modifications
• Reset credentials for all potentially compromised accounts including service accounts, API keys, and integration credentials
• Implement additional monitoring for 90 days post-incident with enhanced alerting thresholds for the attack vectors exploited
• Conduct post-incident review within 14 days documenting timeline, root cause, containment effectiveness, and improvement actions
• Update incident response plan based on lessons learned, addressing gaps identified during the incident handling process