UnixTime

Research Note

Incident Roles and Communications Matrix

  • Updated Jun 17, 2026
  • Read 01 min read
  • Status reviewed

Use this to assign incident response roles, escalation contacts, communications responsibilities, and decision authority before an incident happens.

On this page

When to use this

Practical use

Use this as a working artifact. Fill it with real owners, dates, decisions, evidence locations, and review status.

Use this to assign incident response roles, escalation contacts, communications responsibilities, and decision authority before an incident happens.

Roles matrix

Role Named owner/function Responsibility Backup Contact method
Incident manager Coordinate response and decisions
Technical responder Investigate, contain, eradicate, recover
Business owner Assess business impact and priorities
Communications lead Coordinate internal/external messaging
Legal/privacy lead Assess legal and notification obligations
Management sponsor Approve major decisions and resources
Evidence custodian Preserve logs and records
Supplier/cloud contact Coordinate third-party incident updates

Communication checklist

  • Internal escalation path defined.
  • Supplier/cloud contacts defined.
  • Legal/privacy notification assessor defined.
  • Customer/regulator communication owner defined.
  • Management update cadence defined.
  • Secure incident communication channel defined.
  • Template
  • Incident management
  • Communications
  • Iso27001

Note Metadata

Aliases: Incident RACI

Source: 90 Templates/Incident Roles and Communications Matrix.md