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The primary goal of the containment phase in incident response is to prevent further damage from an incident. During an incident, the situation can rapidly escalate, leading to increased damage both to the system under attack and potentially to other systems as well. Containment involves implementing measures to limit the impact of the incident and to isolate affected systems to stop the spread of an attack.

This phase is critical because it ensures that while the investigation and eradication of the issue are being conducted, the overall security posture of the organization is preserved to the greatest extent possible. By focusing on containment, organizations can minimize the duration and impact of an incident, allowing for greater control over recovery efforts that follow.

For context, while establishing long-term recovery strategies, identifying potential threats, and training personnel are all important components of a comprehensive incident response plan, they come into play during different phases of the incident response process. The immediate need during the containment phase is to act swiftly to limit the damage, which makes it the primary focus at that point in time.