To validate an incident response plan's thoroughness, which activity will the CSO MOST likely conduct?

Conducting a tabletop exercise is a highly effective way to validate the thoroughness of an incident response plan. In this activity, key stakeholders within the organization come together to discuss and simulate responses to various incident scenarios. It allows participants to walk through the incident response procedures, identify any gaps or weaknesses in the plan, and understand their roles during a real incident.

This method encourages collaboration and communication among team members, providing insights into how well-prepared everyone is to manage an incident when it occurs. It also promotes critical thinking about potential challenges that may arise during an actual response, enabling teams to refine their strategies and improve the overall effectiveness of the incident response plan.

While other activities like bug bounty programs, red-team engagements, and external security assessments contribute to overall security posture and can help identify vulnerabilities, they do not specifically validate the response process to an incident itself. A tabletop exercise focuses directly on how the organization would respond to a situation, making it the most appropriate choice for validating an incident response plan's thoroughness.