Why Your Incident Response Team Needs More Than Just Technical Skills

Beyond the Keyboard: Why Communication and Listening Are the Superpowers of an Incident Response Team

When a cyber incident strikes, technical skills aren’t the only thing that matters. Yes, you need sharp analysts, deep forensics expertise, and a playbook built on experience. But if your incident response (IR) team can’t listen – truly listen – to stakeholders, and if they can’t communicate clearly under pressure, your recovery is already compromised.

Cybersecurity isn’t just about what’s happening in the network. It’s about people, context, business impact, and decisions made under extreme stress. And that’s where the soft skills of your IR team – particularly listening and communication – become mission-critical.

The First Hours Matter: Listening Sets the Stage

In the first moments of an incident, stakeholders are overwhelmed. Legal, IT, communications, leadership, everyone has a different concern. An effective IR team listens to understand, not just to respond.

Key questions that can only be answered by listening include:

• What do stakeholders know (or think they know) about the incident?
• What systems are most critical to the business?
• What are the internal political or reputational concerns that may influence decisions?
• Has there already been any communication with attackers, regulators, or media?

Failing to listen means missing critical context. That context drives priorities and determines how the response unfolds.

Communication Builds Trust and Accelerates Recovery

IR teams sit at the center of high-stakes communication: between internal teams, external vendors, regulators, insurers, law enforcement, and possibly the threat actor.

Great communicators do the following:

• Translate technical terms into executive language
• Set expectations clearly and avoid creating false hope
• Deliver bad news without panic or delay
• Guide decision-making with calm, confident, informed input
• Adapt their style depending on who’s in the room

A strong communicator becomes a source of calm in the chaos. They reduce friction, prevent missteps, and help the organization make decisions faster – because people trust what they’re hearing.

Soft Skills Can Make or Break the Outcome

Technical excellence alone can’t resolve a crisis. We’ve seen situations where an IR team had deep forensic skill – but stakeholders were left in the dark. Confusion reigned. Decisions were delayed. And ultimately, the business lost time, trust, and money.

On the other hand, when your IR team listens deeply and communicates clearly, outcomes improve:

• Business leaders feel supported and informed
• Legal and communications teams work in lockstep with IR
• Technical decisions are made with the right context
• Recovery happens faster—and smarter

What to Look For in an IR Partner

If you’re bringing in external IR support, make sure they’re not just “keyboard warriors.” Ask:

• Who leads communications with executives and legal?
• How do they report findings and recommend actions?
• Can they work onsite or interface directly with your teams?
• Have they worked in high-pressure environments across different industries?

Your IR partner should bring empathy and clarity – not just tools and tech.

When the pressure is on, it’s not just about the breach. It’s about how you lead through it.

A great IR team doesn’t just detect and respond. They guide, advise, explain, and support. Listening and communication are the hidden drivers of cyber resilience – and in a crisis, they’re the skills that matter most.

Need help building a response team that leads with clarity?
CYPFER provides recovery-led incident response, with top-tier communicators who work shoulder-to-shoulder with your organization, onsite and in real time. Get Cyber Certainty™ with CYPFER.