Federal glossary · Process
An Incident Response Plan defines the procedures for detecting, analyzing, containing, eradicating, and recovering from cybersecurity incidents. Required by FISMA, NIST 800-53 IR family, and DFARS 252.204-7012 (which mandates 72-hour reporting of cyber incidents to DoD). Contractors handling CUI must maintain and test incident response capabilities.
Example: Respond to an RFI, RFP, or Sources Sought notice.
Reference record · Sources: Federal Acquisition Regulation · Verified Jul 2, 2026 · Covers definition, governing source
Also known as
An Incident Response Plan defines the procedures for detecting, analyzing, containing, eradicating, and recovering from cybersecurity incidents. Required by FISMA, NIST 800-53 IR family, and DFARS 252.204-7012 (which mandates 72-hour reporting of cyber incidents to DoD). Contractors handling CUI must maintain and test incident response capabilities.
is a process concept federal contractors and grant writers run into across solicitations, regulations, and award filings
Incident Response Plan is a step or workflow in the federal-procurement lifecycle. For example: Example: Respond to an RFI, RFP, or Sources Sought notice. Knowing where Incident Response Plan fits in the larger acquisition arc — from market research through award through performance — helps contractors time their engagement, identify the right contracting officials, and avoid showing up too late to influence the requirement. Many proposal failures trace back to misunderstanding when Incident Response Plan occurs, who owns it, and what artifacts it produces. The related terms above name the adjacent process steps that most commonly precede or follow Incident Response Plan, and tracking those transitions over time is one of the more reliable ways to build pipeline visibility ahead of formal solicitations.
Example: Respond to an RFI, RFP, or Sources Sought notice.
Meaning in practice
Incident Response Plan is a step in a government workflow or procurement lifecycle.
Where you’ll see it
You will see it in NOFOs, solicitations, evaluation sections, award letters, and procedural instructions. Example: Example: Respond to an RFI, RFP, or Sources Sought notice..
Common confusion
People often confuse the document that describes the process with the process itself.
What to do next
Identify the deadline, owner, and artifacts the process produces before you move forward.
No related questions are available yet.
Get notified when usage of Incident Response Plan changes in contracts or guidance.
Search active federal contracts and solicitations related to Incident Response Plan on Bureauify.
100M+ government records · 110+ gov/news sources · Sourced from official federal systems
