4. Chain of Survival: Incident Response in Cyber Emergencies

Bob J
Sep 11
1 min read

The “chain of survival” is a well-known EMS protocol: early recognition, early CPR, rapid defibrillation, and advanced care are all critical steps in saving a cardiac arrest patient. Each link is essential—miss one, and survival drops dramatically.

Translating the Protocol:

In EMS cybersecurity, your chain of survival includes recognizing an incident, reporting it, containing the threat, investigating, and then recovering operations. If a single link is weak—for example, if employees don’t know how to report a suspected breach—the entire response can fail.

Practical Example:

Imagine a provider finds a lost laptop in the rig. Instead of just turning it in, they notify the supervisor, who knows to report it to IT for investigation and possible remote data wipe. This stops potential PHI exposure and fulfills HIPAA reporting requirements.

Protocol in Action:

- Train all staff on how to identify and report cyber incidents.

- Establish clear lines of communication and escalation.

- Regularly conduct drills, tabletop exercises, and after-action reviews—just like mass casualty or cardiac arrest scenarios.

- After recovery, update policies and protocols as needed to prevent recurrence.

Key Takeaway:

A strong chain of response can turn a cyber incident into a minor inconvenience rather than a full-blown crisis. Practice and reinforce every link.