Which of the following is considered a critical step in responding to a cybersecurity incident?

Containment is considered a critical step in responding to a cybersecurity incident because it involves taking immediate actions to limit the spread of the incident and reduce further damage. Once a cybersecurity threat has been detected, containment measures are necessary to ensure that the threat does not propagate beyond its initial point and to preserve the integrity of unaffected systems. This might involve isolating affected devices, shutting down compromised accounts, or implementing network restrictions.

Effective containment strategies are vital to control the situation and prevent further impact on the organization's systems, data, and operations. Following containment, an organization can move on to the analysis and recovery phases, but failing to contain the incident first could result in escalated damage and complexity in the overall response effort.

While documentation and investigation are also important aspects of incident response, they typically follow the containment phase. Investment in new software may enhance security in the long run but does not address the immediate need to manage an ongoing incident.