What does the term "incident escalation" refer to?

The term "incident escalation" primarily refers to the process of informing higher-level personnel as the severity of an incident increases. This is a critical aspect of incident management because escalating an incident ensures that the appropriate resources and expertise are allocated to address the situation effectively. As incidents evolve, they may require the attention of more experienced personnel or specialized teams; thus, proper escalation helps in managing risk, reducing the potential impact of the incident, and ensuring a swift resolution.

In practice, incident escalation follows a predefined hierarchy within an organization, where initial responses are handled by front-line support staff, and if the issue exceeds their level of knowledge or authority, it is escalated to higher management or technical teams. This systematic approach ensures that incidents are addressed at the right level and with adequate urgency, ultimately improving the overall response to security threats or IT issues.

The other options do not accurately capture the essence of "incident escalation." Resolving minor IT issues, conducting a post-incident analysis, and the initial response to a security threat are all important aspects of incident management but do not specifically focus on the act of escalating incidents to higher levels of authority or expertise as their severity increases.