Which decision should be made ahead of time as part of the Prepare process?

The Prepare process in incident management is crucial for establishing a robust framework for effectively responding to incidents. This phase focuses on planning and readiness, which includes making critical decisions regarding incident response protocols.

One key decision is determining who to notify when handling certain incidents. This involves identifying stakeholders, such as internal teams, management, or external agencies, ensuring that communication is efficient and appropriate during an incident response. Establishing these roles ahead of time helps streamline the response process and prevents confusion during a critical event.

Additionally, deciding when to collect forensic evidence is vital. This choice impacts the integrity and usability of that evidence for future analysis or legal purposes. Having a pre-defined procedure for evidence collection ensures that all necessary actions are taken promptly and correctly, preserving the reliability of the data being collected.

Lastly, planning how to shut down systems ahead of time is essential as well. This measure could be necessary to contain threats or protect data during an incident. Defining these procedures in advance helps minimize downtime and confusion during actual incident scenarios.

Thus, since all these aspects fall under the broader requirement for readiness, involving all the selected choices into the Prepare process, it is accurate to conclude that all these decisions should be made ahead of time. This comprehensive preparation lays the groundwork for an effective