What are incident response services?
Incident response services are specialized teams and tools that help you detect, contain, and recover from cyberattacks. They combine expert knowledge with advanced technology to minimize damage when security breaches happen – and that damage adds up fast, with breaches now costing companies $4.44 million on average globally (or $10.22 million if you're in the U.S.).
Cloud incident response services handle these unique challenges by providing visibility across all your cloud environments, understanding how attackers target cloud systems, and using automation to stop threats fast.
You can work with incident response services in two main ways. Emergency response gives you immediate help during an active attack, while retainer agreements provide ongoing preparation and guaranteed response times when incidents occur.
Cloud-Native Incident Response
Learn why security operations team rely on Wiz to help them proactively detect and respond to unfolding cloud threats.
Key capabilities to evaluate in incident response services
When choosing incident response services for your cloud setup, focus on capabilities that address modern threats and cloud-specific challenges. Look for services that can protect your entire cloud infrastructure from development through production. Here are the key capabilities to evaluate:
Cloud-native forensics and investigation should include memory analysis, disk imaging, and log correlation across cloud services. The service must handle ephemeral resources like containers and serverless functions while supporting chain‑of‑custody best practices.
Automated response and containment features let you quickly isolate compromised resources using automated playbooks for common attack scenarios. Speed matters here – the average breach takes 241 days to identify and contain. Look for pre‑approved playbooks integrated with CI/CD, IaC, SIEM, and SOAR to automate containment and push fixes to code owners.
Threat intelligence integration ensures responders understand the latest attack methods and threat actor behaviors relevant to your industry. Services should use global threat data to identify sophisticated attacks before they cause major damage.
Multi-cloud support is essential if you use multiple cloud providers. Services should provide consistent response capabilities across AWS, Azure, GCP, and hybrid environments with unified visibility.
24/7 availability and response SLAs guarantee expert help when you need it most. Check response time commitments, escalation procedures, and geographic coverage to make sure they align with your business needs.
Top incident response services compared
The right incident response service depends on your specific needs, existing technology, and cloud maturity level. Here's how the top services stack up.
1. Wiz Incident Response Services
Wiz Incident Response sets a new standard for rapid, effective response in the cloud era, purpose-built to address the unique speed, scale, and complexity of cloud-native threats. Our IR service combines best-in-class technology with access to world-class Wiz security experts, empowering organizations to quickly detect, investigate, and contain incidents while minimizing business impact.
Wiz IR delivers instant, agentless visibility across your entire cloud environment – including AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes – so there’s no waiting for deployment or coverage gaps. The Wiz Security Graph automatically correlates vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, exposed secrets, permissions, and real-time threat activity, surfacing the true blast radius and attack path in seconds, not days. This enables your team to understand what happened, what’s at risk, and what to do next, all in a single unified view.
Key capabilities include:
Agentless cloud-wide visibility with optional lightweight runtime sensor: Investigate incidents across accounts and workloads using agentless cloud context and, where needed, a lightweight eBPF-based sensor for runtime forensics – without broad agent rollouts or downtime.
Automated evidence preservation and timeline reconstruction: Collect and retain forensic evidence from ephemeral resources, containers, and serverless functions – supporting chain‑of‑custody best practices and accelerating response.
Security Graph-powered attack path analysis: Map relationships between cloud resources, identities, and permissions to reveal lateral movement and blast radius with context-rich visualizations.
Customizable and automated response playbooks: Rapidly isolate compromised accounts, block attacker access, and kick off remediation – integrated seamlessly with your existing security workflows.
24/7 access to Wiz IR experts: Partner with incident response veterans who bring frontline expertise, cloud-native know-how, and step-by-step guidance from triage to post-incident review.
Wiz Incident Response is designed for organizations that demand fast, informed action in the cloud – whether you need an immediate response to an active threat or want to proactively strengthen your readiness. With cloud-to-code traceability, automated investigation, and a team of experts by your side, Wiz IR helps you cut response times from hours to minutes and turn every incident into an opportunity to harden your defenses.
See how customers like PROS have reduced threat response times by leveraging Wiz’s contextual alerts, agentless coverage, and expert-driven workflows – enabling their teams to identify, contain, and remediate incidents in minutes, not hours.
2. CrowdStrike Incident Response
CrowdStrike's Falcon Complete MDR combines endpoint-focused incident response with robust threat intelligence capabilities. The service leverages their extensive endpoint visibility through the Falcon sensor technology while providing access to a team of expert incident responders.
Key capabilities include:
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) with near real‑time visibility and real‑time containment
Threat hunting led by experienced analysts using the CrowdStrike Threat Graph
Advanced forensic analysis capabilities for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems
Falcon Complete managed detection and response for 24/7 monitoring
While CrowdStrike excels at endpoint protection, their cloud coverage relies heavily on agent deployment, which can create visibility gaps in ephemeral cloud workloads and serverless functions. Their cloud workload protection requires additional modules and may lack the depth of cloud-native solutions.
This works best for organizations with hybrid environments requiring strong endpoint visibility alongside cloud protection. CrowdStrike provides extensive threat actor tracking and deep integration with its endpoint protection platform.
3. Mandiant (Google Cloud)
Mandiant provides intelligence-led incident response with deep expertise in advanced persistent threats. Following its acquisition by Google Cloud, Mandiant combines its frontline incident response expertise with Google's cloud security capabilities.
Key offerings include:
Incident response retainers with guaranteed SLAs and flexible service options
Advanced threat actor intelligence from their frontline investigations
Digital forensics capabilities for both on-premises and cloud environments
Specialized expertise in nation-state attacks and critical infrastructure
Mandiant's traditional strength lies in human expertise rather than technology automation. While they've begun integrating with Google Cloud security tools, their cloud-native capabilities are still evolving compared to purpose-built cloud security platforms.
This service suits organizations facing sophisticated attacks or requiring regulatory compliance support. Mandiant brings nation-state threat expertise and integration with Google Cloud security tools.
4. IBM X-Force
IBM X-Force delivers global incident response with enterprise-grade integration capabilities across hybrid environments. Their service combines human expertise with the Watson for Cyber Security AI platform to accelerate investigation and response.
Key features include:
Global response team with 24/7 coverage across major regions
AI-powered investigation assistance through Watson for Cyber Security
Integration with IBM Security QRadar SIEM and SOAR platforms
Specialized OT/ICS incident response capabilities for industrial environments
IBM's approach emphasizes integration with their broader security ecosystem but may require significant investment in their technology stack for maximum effectiveness. Their cloud-specific capabilities have improved but still reflect their enterprise heritage rather than cloud-native design.
This works well for large enterprises requiring global coverage and integration with existing IBM security investments. IBM offers global delivery capabilities and AI-powered threat analysis.
5. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42
Unit 42, Palo Alto Networks' threat intelligence and incident response team, specializes in ransomware response and cloud security investigations. Their service leverages Palo Alto's broad security portfolio while providing specialized expertise in critical incident types.
Key capabilities include:
Ransomware response and negotiation by specialized experts
Cloud incident response leveraging Prisma Cloud's capabilities
Advanced threat hunting across network, endpoint, and cloud
Integration with Cortex XDR for unified detection and response
Unit 42's effectiveness depends significantly on whether organizations have deployed Palo Alto's security stack. Their cloud security capabilities through Prisma Cloud provide good visibility, but the integration between their various tools can sometimes create operational complexity.
This works best for organizations concerned about ransomware attacks or requiring specialized cloud incident response. Unit 42 provides ransomware negotiation expertise and integration with the Prisma Cloud platform – a smart focus since ransomware shows up in 44% of breaches these days.
6. Microsoft Incident Response
Microsoft's Detection and Response Team (DART) provides incident response services optimized for Microsoft environments, with particular strength in Microsoft 365 and Azure cloud investigations. Their deep knowledge of Microsoft products enables them to quickly identify and remediate threats within these ecosystems.
Key offerings include:
Native integration with Microsoft Defender XDR and Sentinel SIEM
Specialized Microsoft 365 investigation capabilities for email and identity threats
Azure-focused cloud incident response with direct platform access
Access to Microsoft's global threat intelligence network
Microsoft's incident response services excel within their ecosystem and may have limitations in multi‑cloud environments or with non‑Microsoft technologies. Their approach works best when organizations are heavily invested in the Microsoft security stack.
This works best for organizations heavily invested in Microsoft technologies and Azure cloud services. Microsoft provides native Azure integration and access to extensive threat intelligence networks.
An Actionable Incident Response Plan Template
A quickstart guide to creating a powerful incident response plan - designed specifically for organizations with cloud-based deployments.
Best practices for implementing incident response services in cloud environments
Effective incident response in the cloud starts long before an incident ever happens. The key is preparation – building clear processes, leveraging the right technologies, and ensuring your team knows how to act when every minute counts. Let’s break down what sets strong cloud IR programs apart.
Define clear roles and handoffs with your IR provider. Start by mapping out exactly how your internal team and your external IR service will collaborate during an incident. Establish joint escalation paths, communication channels, and decision-making protocols so there are no surprises when every minute counts.
Integrate your IR service with your cloud and security stack. Enable your IR provider to access the data and visibility they need – think cloud logging, SIEM alerts, and cloud-native forensics tooling. The most effective IR services plug directly into your existing workflows, so evidence collection and investigation start instantly, not hours later.
Leverage pre-built, cloud-specific playbooks. Work with your IR partner to develop and customize automated response playbooks for your unique cloud footprint. These should address scenarios like credential compromise, misconfiguration exploits, and lateral movement across multi-cloud environments – helping you contain incidents quickly and consistently.
Test your combined response with joint exercises. Don’t wait for a real breach to see how your teams and your IR provider work together. Run tabletop exercises and simulated attacks that involve your IR service, validate communication, and ensure everyone understands their roles – so you’re ready for the real thing.
Maintain ongoing readiness with proactive services. Take advantage of your IR service’s expertise beyond emergency response—use retainer hours for compromise assessments, playbook tuning, and readiness reviews tailored to your cloud stack. Proactive engagement helps you close gaps before attackers can exploit them.
Establish clear SLAs and reporting expectations. Make sure your retainer or service agreement specifies response time commitments, evidence handling procedures, and post-incident reporting deliverables. This clarity accelerates response and ensures your team has actionable insights to prevent future incidents.
By embedding your IR service into your day-to-day cloud operations – not just calling them when disaster strikes – you build a faster, more resilient response capability that adapts as your environment evolves.
How Wiz IR redefines incident response services for the cloud
Wiz Incident Response (IR) sets a new standard for cloud security by delivering instant, unified visibility and expert-driven response across cloud environments. Purpose-built for the speed, scale, and complexity of the cloud, Wiz IR empowers security teams to detect, investigate, and contain threats in minutes – not hours or days – using automated, agentless technology and world-class cloud security expertise.
At the core of Wiz IR is the Wiz Security Graph, which automatically correlates vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, exposed secrets, permissions, and real-time threat activity. This context-rich analysis surfaces the true blast radius and attack path of every incident, enabling your team to understand exactly what happened, what’s at risk, and how to respond – faster and more accurately than traditional approaches.
Wiz IR’s automated investigation capabilities reduce mean time to respond by instantly preserving evidence, reconstructing timelines, and mapping attacker movement across your cloud estate. When a threat is detected, Wiz connects the dots from runtime activity all the way back to the original source – such as a misconfiguration in code – so you can fix the root cause, not just the symptoms.
Wiz IR integrates seamlessly with your existing security stack, enriching SIEM alerts with cloud context, automating response actions through SOAR platforms, and providing a single, unified view across all your environments. This means you can extend and enhance your current investments – not replace them – while accelerating and strengthening every stage of your incident response process.
With 24/7 access to Wiz IR experts, customizable response playbooks, and cloud-to-code traceability, Wiz IR helps organizations turn every incident into an opportunity to harden defenses and reduce risk. By combining proactive risk identification with rapid, agentless response, Wiz IR ensures you’re prepared for whatever the cloud brings next.
Cloud-Native Incident Response
Learn why security operations team rely on Wiz to help them proactively detect and respond to unfolding cloud threats.