# What is Root Cause Analysis?

> Root cause analysis is the structured investigation of why an incident or failure occurred, so fixes remove the underlying cause rather than only its symptoms.

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## Content

In security operations, root cause analysis traces how an attacker or failure entered, moved, and persisted: the exploited weakness, the missing control, the process gap, and the conditions that let damage spread. It feeds corrective actions, lessons learned, control changes, and risk-register updates.

### Key points

- **Cause layers:** Separate the entry vector, the enabling weakness, the control failure, and the organizational or process root — fixing only the first leaves the rest open.
- **Realistic timing:** Early findings may be provisional; forensic depth, business pressure, and legal constraints shape how far analysis can go.
- **Important limitation:** Root cause is a model, not a fact. Investigations work from incomplete telemetry, and the selected “root” often reflects how far the organization chose to dig.

### Related terms

[Incident response (IR)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/incident-response/>) · [Digital forensics and incident response (DFIR)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/digital-forensics-and-incident-response/>) · [Chain of custody](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/chain-of-custody/>) · [Security playbook](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/security-playbook/>) · [Cyber resilience](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/cyber-resilience/>)

### Sources

[NIST SP 800-61 Rev. 3, Incident Response Recommendations and Considerations](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/61/r3/final) · [CISA, Federal Government Cybersecurity Incident and Vulnerability Response Playbooks](https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/federal-government-cybersecurity-incident-and-vulnerability-response-playbooks)

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