Emergency Response Guide + Checklist · Instant Download

You've Been Breached.
Now what?

The decisions you make in the first 72 hours after a breach determine how bad it gets — legally, financially, and reputationally. This guide tells you exactly what to do, in what order, before panic sets in.

If you're reading this because something just happened — skip to the purchase button below. You need this now, not after reading the whole page.
$47 $27

Guide + Checklist bundle · One-time purchase · Instant PDF download

Get the Bundle — $27 →

🔒 Secure checkout · 7-day money-back guarantee · No subscription

Nearly 30 Years Experience CISSP · CISA · GSLC Guided breaches to secure in under 4 hours US Marine Corps Veteran
Five Phases

Hour 1 through Hour 72. Every step covered.

Most businesses fail in a breach not because they lack technical skills — but because nobody has ever told them what to do first, second, and third when the pressure is on.

1
Hour 1
Contain — Stop the bleeding
Isolate affected systems, preserve evidence, make the first critical calls. What to do — and critically, what NOT to do — in the first 60 minutes.
2
Hours 2–8
Assess — Understand what happened
Determine scope, engage legal counsel, notify your cyber insurance carrier. The sequence matters — doing this out of order can cost you coverage.
3
Hours 8–24
Notify — Who to tell and when
Regulatory notification timelines by framework — GDPR's 72-hour window, HIPAA's requirements, state breach laws. Missing these deadlines multiplies your exposure.
4
Hours 24–48
Communicate — What to say and how
Three attorney-reviewed email templates — one for customers, one for vendors, one for employees. What to say, what to avoid, and how to say it without creating additional legal exposure.
5
Hours 48–72
Recover — Getting back to business
System restoration sequence, credential rotation, documentation requirements for insurance and regulatory purposes. How to close out the incident properly.
72hr
GDPR regulatory notification deadline
$120K
Average small business breach cost
40%
Of breached small businesses never reopen
What's Included

Two documents. One bundle.

Print the checklist before you need it. Read the guide after. Both are included in your instant download.

Guide
You've Been Breached — What to Do in the First 72 Hours
5-phase response protocol
Who to call and in what order
What NOT to say publicly
3 attorney-ready email swipe files
Breach response call sheet
Regulatory notification timelines
Checklist
72-Hour Response Checklist
Print it. Put it in your desk.
Phase-by-phase action checklist
Nothing missed under pressure
Fillable fields for key contacts
Policy numbers and incident details
Designed to work when you're panicking
Get the Bundle — $27 →
Why This Guide

Written by someone who has actually managed breaches.

✓
The sequence matters — calling your attorney before your insurance carrier, or notifying customers before regulators, can create coverage gaps and legal exposure. This guide gets the order right
✓
Attorney-ready email templates — what to say to customers, vendors, and employees that acknowledges the incident without creating additional liability
✓
Regulatory notification timelines — GDPR requires notification within 72 hours. HIPAA gives you 60 days. State laws vary from 30 to 90 days. Missing these deadlines multiplies your exposure
✓
The checklist is designed for panic — when you're in the middle of a breach, you cannot rely on your memory. One checkbox at a time, nothing missed
✓
Print it before you need it — during a ransomware attack your systems may be inaccessible. The checklist needs to exist in physical form in your desk before an incident occurs
Who Wrote This

Written by someone who has guided breaches to resolution.

Breach response is not theoretical for us. We have guided organizations from breach to secure in under four hours — averting an average of $4.24 million in compliance breach costs per engagement.

Nearly 30 years in information security — incident response, security operations, and executive leadership
Guided organizations from breach to secure in under four hours — ransomware, data exfiltration, credential compromise
CISSP, CISA, and GIAC Security Leadership certified
United States Marine Corps veteran
Questions

Frequently Asked

Purchase the bundle immediately and open the checklist first — not the guide. The checklist is designed to be used under pressure. Start at Phase 1 and work through it. Read the full guide after the immediate crisis is contained.
Yes — completely different problem. The cybersecurity guide is about prevention: closing the doors before something happens. This guide is about response: what to do after something has already happened. Most businesses need both.
No. The guide and checklist are written for business owners without legal or technical backgrounds. The email templates are ready to adapt and send. The checklist requires no expertise — just the ability to follow a numbered list under pressure.
Yes. If this bundle isn't what you needed, contact us within 7 days for a full refund — no questions asked.
Prevention + Compliance

Responding to a breach is the hard way to learn you needed better security.

The other two INeedACISO guides cover what to do before something goes wrong.

Prevention
Cybersecurity Without an IT Department
40 pages · 30-day security quick-start
$27
Get the Guide →
Compliance
The Small Business Compliance Playbook
167 pages · 9 frameworks · HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI-DSS & more
$297
Get the Playbook →

Print the checklist before you need it.
Read the guide after.

The worst time to find this guide is after something has already gone wrong. Get it now, put the checklist in your desk, and hope you never need either one.

$47 $27

Guide + Checklist bundle · Instant PDF download · One-time purchase

Get the Bundle — $27 →

🔒 Secure checkout · 7-day money-back guarantee