In the context of incident response, what does "containment" entail?

Containment in the context of incident response refers to actions taken to limit the impact of a security incident. This phase is crucial because it helps to prevent further damage and restrict the spread of the incident while allowing for a controlled response to the situation. By implementing containment strategies, an organization can isolate affected systems, terminate malicious processes, or block unauthorized access, thereby minimizing potential losses and preserving evidence for later analysis.

The other options, while important aspects of incident response, do not accurately describe containment. Preventing data from being stolen is more focused on protection measures, restoring systems to normal operations pertains to recovery, and analyzing the causes of the incident relates to the post-incident activity of identifying vulnerabilities and root causes. Containment specifically targets the immediate goal of mitigating ongoing damage during an incident.