A cyber incident response plan (sometimes called an IRP) is a written playbook your business follows when something goes wrong — ransomware locks your files, an employee clicks a phishing link, a vendor gets breached and takes your data with them. It tells you who to call, what to shut down, what to document, and how to communicate with clients and staff.

Most business owners think about cybersecurity the wrong way. They picture it as a single moment — the day they buy the software, hire the IT guy, or sign off on the policy. Box checked. Done. Back to running the business.

January feels like a reset. Everyone’s fresh off the holidays, systems are being cleaned up, and new staff are coming on board. But behind the scenes, Q1 is one of the riskiest times of the year for cyber incidents—especially for small and mid-sized businesses here in Albuquerque.