Incident response is a systematic approach to managing and responding to security incidents, such as cyber attacks, data breaches, or system failures, to minimize damage, restore normal operations, and prevent future incidents.

Incident response phases are a structured approach to managing and responding to security incidents. The phases typically include:

1. Identification: The initial detection and reporting of a potential security incident. This phase involves monitoring systems, logs, and alerts to identify potential security breaches.

2. Initial Response: The immediate actions taken to contain the incident and prevent further damage. This phase involves isolating affected systems, shutting down services, and notifying incident response teams.

3. Assessment: A thorough analysis of the incident to understand its scope, impact, and root cause. This phase involves gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and analyzing system logs.

4. Containment: The actions taken to prevent the incident from spreading and to limit the damage. This phase involves isolating affected systems, restricting access, and implementing temporary fixes.

5. Eradication: The process of removing the root cause of the incident, such as malware or vulnerabilities. This phase involves patching systems, updating software, and removing malicious code.

6. Recovery: The process of restoring systems and services to a known good state. This phase involves rebuilding systems, restoring data, and testing services.

7. Post-Incident Activities: The final phase involves documenting lessons learned, conducting a post-incident review, and implementing changes to prevent similar incidents in the future.

These phases are not mutually exclusive, and some may overlap or occur concurrently. Effective incident response requires a structured approach to ensure that incidents are handled efficiently and effectively.