FREE POPIA TOOLKIT

SUPPORTING TEMPLATE

Root Cause Analysis

1. Incident Details

• Incident Date and Time: [Insert Date and Time]
• Description of Incident: [Brief description of the incident]
• Severity Level: [Low/Medium/High]
• Impact on Operations: [Brief description of the impact on operations]
• Affected Systems/Assets: [List of systems/assets affected by the incident]

2. Incident Timeline

3. Immediate Actions Taken

• Containment Measures: [Description of measures taken to contain the incident]
• Mitigation Steps: [Description of steps taken to mitigate the impact of the incident]

4. Investigation Findings

• Root Cause(s) Identified: [Description of the root cause(s) of the incident]
• Contributing Factors: [List of factors contributing to the incident]
• Vulnerabilities Identified: [Description of vulnerabilities in the organization’s security controls]

5. Recommendations for Improvement

• Short-Term Remediation: [Recommendations for immediate actions to address the root cause(s) and prevent similar incidents in the future]
• Long-Term Remediation: [Recommendations for long-term improvements to strengthen the organization’s security posture]

6. Lessons Learned

• Key Takeaways: [Lessons learned from the incident]
• Areas for Improvement: [Areas identified for improvement in incident response procedures and security controls]

7. Action Plan

• Responsible Parties: [List of individuals responsible for implementing the recommended actions]
• Timeline: [Timeline for implementing the recommended actions]
• Status Updates: [Process for monitoring and reporting on the progress of action plan implementation]

8. Plan Approval and Distribution

This Root Cause Analysis has been reviewed and approved by [Name/Position]. It will be distributed to relevant stakeholders for review and implementation of recommended actions. Any updates or revisions to the analysis will be communicated promptly to ensure continued effectiveness in addressing security incidents.

This Root Cause Analysis Template provides a structured framework for identifying the root cause(s) of security incidents, analyzing contributing factors, and developing recommendations for improvement. It includes sections for documenting incident details, timeline, immediate actions taken, investigation findings, recommendations, lessons learned, action plan, and plan approval and distribution.