Report incidents promptly and correctly
Operators of critical infrastructure have legal duties to report significant cyber incidents, and timely reporting also helps the national community defend against a shared threat. Knowing your obligations in advance means you report the right information, to the right bodies, within the required time, even during a crisis.
Know your reporting duties
Identify which incidents are reportable under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act and your sector's regulations.
Report cyber incidents to the relevant national authority through its official channels.
Report qualifying personal-data breaches to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner within the statutory timeline.
Confirm any additional duties to your sector regulator, and any obligation to notify affected customers.
Prepare the reporting process now
Define internally who decides an incident is reportable, who authorises external reports, and who makes them. Keep the contact details and submission routes for each body offline and current. Prepare templates capturing what happened, when, the impact, systems and data affected, and your response, so you can report quickly without disclosing more than appropriate.
Keep records and follow up
Maintain a secure record of each incident and every report made, including reference numbers and timestamps. Cooperate with the relevant national authority and regulators, provide updates as the picture develops, and capture lessons learned to strengthen both your defences and your reporting process for next time.
Useful references
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Prepare an incident report with the details that matter.