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About the Author
Keith Strassberg is an accomplished cybersecurity executive with over two decades of experience in leadership, technology strategy, and cybersecurity solutions. He joins CyberMaxx as our Chief Strategy Officer expanding the Executive Leadership role he held at Cybersafe Solutions. He has spent the last seven years as Cybersafe’s Chief Operating Officer, driving company growth and innovation in the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape.
Before Cybersafe Solutions, Keith served as the President, CTO, and Board Member at SHC Universal, where he was instrumental in guiding the company’s technological direction and operational success. He also held the position of Chief Cyber Security Architect at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, leading cybersecurity initiatives that protected critical assets in the financial services sector.
Keith’s career began at Arthur Andersen, one of the Big 5 accounting firms, where he built a strong foundation in technology and cybersecurity consulting, advising clients across industries on risk management and security strategies.
In addition to his executive roles, Keith is an accomplished author with several books to his name, including Information Security: The Complete Reference (ISBN 0072226978) and Firewalls: The Complete Reference 1st and 2nd Editions (ISBNs 0072195673,0071784357). These works have contributed valuable insights to the fields of cybersecurity and technology, solidifying his reputation as an expert and thought leader.
With a passion for advancing the cybersecurity field, Keith remains dedicated to leading teams that develop innovative solutions and secure critical infrastructures in a world where cyber threats are ever-present.
Additional Resources:
Once an attacker gains access to your system, cyberattacks can escalate quickly. Your Mean Time To Respond (MTTR) defines your ability to stop damage before it spreads.
What is Mean Time to Respond (MTTR)?
Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) is the average amount of time it takes for your organization to contain and resolve a security incident. That makes it a core defensive metric for cyber resilience.
How MTTR Fits into Incident Response
- Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) is the average amount of time taken to identify that the organization is experiencing a cyberattack.
- Mean Time to Contain (MTTC) is the average amount of time it takes to contain a threat.
- Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) specifically measures the time it takes to contain, remediate, and eradicate a threat.
- Dwell time is the time between a threat actor first gaining access to the system and the organization detecting and removing the threat.
How MTTR Relates to Dwell Time
Your Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) specifically tracks how fast your team responds to a threat once it’s detected. Reducing your MTTR is one of the most effective ways to reduce your dwell time, which refers to how long an attacker remains in your environment.
What a Good MTTR Looks Like
Given that threat actors now act in a matter of days or even hours, your Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) needs to be faster. Unfortunately, many organizations are still relying on legacy security models that weren’t designed for today’s fast-paced environment.
Zero-latency security enables real-time threat detection and response, significantly reducing your MTTR. Automation now plays a vital role in this process: organizations that extensively used security AI and automation could detect and contain incidents an average of 98 days faster than those that did not use these technologies, according to a 2024 IBM report.
Why MTTR Should Be a C-Suite Priority
A slow response to cyberattacks can lead to long-term reputational damage, regulatory fines, and significant financial losses.
Faster Response = Lower Risk
A shorter Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) can significantly minimize breach impact, as it reduces the window of opportunity for attackers.
When Every Minute Counts
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is considered the world’s largest bank by total assets. It was hit by a ransomware attack in November 2023, which disrupted the U.S. Treasury market and impacted millions of people as a result. Fast containment of the incident was crucial, and ICBC immediately isolated impacted systems to contain the incident after it was discovered.
The 2023 attack on Clorox, a major American goods manufacturer, took many of its automated systems offline and prevented retailers from ordering its products. That led to a 20% decline in sales, which cost the brand $356 million.
The Role of MDR and SOCaaS in Reducing MTTR
Working with external partners helps augment your organization’s internal capabilities by providing 24/7 detection and accelerated response.
Always-On Monitoring and Expert Triage
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Security Operations Center-as-a-Service (SOCaaS) providers like CyberMaxx can provide proactive threat hunting and rapid detection and containment.
Third-party MDR and SOCaaS support allows your team to spot threats early and take swift action to mitigate damage. Such partnerships significantly enhance your organization’s cybersecurity performance and improve incident response metrics.
Integrated Containment at Speed
MDR and SOCaaS providers monitor logs and network traffic around the clock to detect signs of unusual or suspicious activity. If an anomaly is detected, a predefined incident response playbook is activated to isolate systems or revoke access immediately, before human teams can log in.
Internal Tactics to Improve MTTR
Alongside working with MDR and SOCaaS providers, internal teams can implement strategies to reduce MTTR from the inside out.
Use SOAR Tools to Automate Playbooks
SOAR tools enhance security operations by automating repetitive tasks and improving incident response metrics. Conditional response logic within these tools automates actions based on specific conditions, such as isolating endpoints or blocking IPs after meeting certain thresholds. Meanwhile, incident enrichment adds context by pulling in data from external sources like threat intelligence, helping analysts make informed decisions.
Improve Training and Documentation
Regular training and clear documentation can help employees identify and respond to issues more effectively. Runbooks can provide team members with step-by-step procedures to resolve known issues, while playbooks can provide best practices for known instances. This helps teams identify issues more quickly and ensures response procedures remain consistent.
Well-documented manual steps can also pave the way for organizations to implement automated workflows, which can speed up MTTR even further.
Track and Refine Your MTTR
Organizations should audit their Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) to improve cybersecurity performance and run post-incident reviews tied to their KPIs. This internal tracking should complement, not replace, the performance evaluation of external MDR and SOCaaS providers.
You should frequently review your Service Level Agreements (SLAs), response time benchmarks, and transparency into partner actions to ensure your third-party vendors meet your organization’s expectations and contribute meaningfully to MTTR reduction.
Measuring MTTR: What to Watch
It’s important to avoid common pitfalls to monitor MTTR effectively.
Avoid the “Average” Trap
On the surface, relying on averages to measure your organization’s Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) makes sense. However, this can be misleading as it can obscure outliers or recurring issues. For example, even if your organization typically resolves incidents quickly, a single prolonged incident can drag out your MTTR.
To avoid this, you should focus on the median MTTR and track trends over time. You can also break down incidents by severity to help identify systemic weaknesses.
Use MTTR Trends to Guide Investment
In addition to improving your incident response metrics, understanding your Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) trends can help you identify areas of your organization that need investment. This can help you justify budgets and select the right vendors to help you meet your security goals.
Final Thoughts on MTTR and Cyber Readiness
Faster incident response is one of the most controllable aspects of cyber defense. Choosing the right MDR and SOCaaS partner is essential for meeting your targets.