Phishing Response Policy

The Phishing Response Policy provides a structured approach for detecting, reporting, and responding to phishing and social engineering attacks. It helps businesses protect their systems, data, and users from credential theft, email compromise, and similar forms of cyber deception.

What Does this Phishing Response Policy Do?

This policy establishes clear procedures for recognising phishing attempts, isolating affected accounts, investigating incidents, and restoring normal operations. It also supports compliance with the UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018, and Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 by ensuring timely response and reporting where personal data is involved.

It includes classification levels, detailed response procedures, and a record-keeping schedule, helping organisations respond quickly, contain risks, and prevent recurrence through staff awareness and training.

Who Is This Policy For?

This document is suitable for:

• Businesses of all sizes using email, cloud platforms, or online communication tools;
• IT, HR, and compliance teams responsible for staff security and training;
• Organisations seeking to strengthen internal reporting and investigation procedures;
• Managed service providers (MSPs) and consultants implementing cybersecurity frameworks.

What Are the Key Features of this Phishing Response Policy?

• Legal and Regulatory Alignment: Complies with UK data protection and cybersecurity laws.
• Phishing Classification Table: Categorises incidents by severity with clear examples.
• Response Procedure: Defines actions for detection, containment, reporting, and recovery.
• Record Retention Schedule: Lists investigation and training records with retention periods.
• Training and Awareness: Emphasises user education and simulated phishing exercises.
• Integration and Consistency: Works with all other policies in the Cyber & IT Policy Suite.

This policy is part of the Cyber & IT Policy Suite, a collection of templates designed to help businesses strengthen their cybersecurity resilience, meet compliance obligations, and respond effectively to digital threats.

The Phishing Response Policy complements the other documents in the Simply-Docs Cyber & IT Policy Suite, including:

• Incident Response Policy – establishing governance and coordination across incident types;
• Cyberattack Response Policy – providing detailed procedures for cyber intrusion and system compromise;
• Malware Response Policy – covering containment and recovery from malicious software infections; and
• Ransomware Response Policy – addressing extortion and encryption-based cyberattacks.

Together, these policies provide a unified, legally compliant approach to incident management, helping businesses detect, respond to, and recover from all types of cybersecurity threats.

This Phishing Response Policy contains the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. Scope
3. Legal and Regulatory Context
4. Objectives of this Policy
5. Phishing Incident Classification
6. Response Procedure
7. Record Keeping
8. Confidentiality
9. Cross-Reference and Integration
10. Implementation of Policy

Optional phrases / clauses are enclosed in square brackets. These should be read carefully and selected so as to be compatible with one another. Unused options should be removed from the document.

This Phishing Response Policy is unlocked and in .docx format. Either enter the requisite details in the highlighted fields or adjust the wording to suit your purposes.

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