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FIRST stands for the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams. It is an international membership association and peer network for computer security incident response teams (CSIRTs) and related security teams. Its purpose is to help those teams coordinate, cooperate, share information, and limit the damage caused by security incidents. FIRST was founded in 1990.
Why FIRST was created
FIRST’s official history traces its origin to the 1988 Internet worm. Response to that incident was isolated and uncoordinated, which led to duplicated work and conflicting solutions. The CERT Coordination Center was formed soon afterward, and other response teams followed, each with different constituencies and operating arrangements. Differences in language, time zones, and international conventions made cooperation difficult. The 1989 Wank worm made the need for better communication plain, and FIRST was formed in 1990 to meet it. FIRST’s overview describes the underlying idea as going back to 1989, but the organization identifies 1990 as its founding year, so that is the date to use.
Source: FIRST History.
What FIRST is, and what it is not
FIRST is an association and collaboration network. It is not a national incident response team, a government agency, or a commercial security product. Its work connects teams and supports shared practices, so that a response team in one country can find and work with the right partner in another.
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- FIRST is not a single standard. It publishes and supports frameworks and resources, but membership does not mean a team has been certified or assessed.
More background on the organization is available on its About FIRST page.
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What FIRST does
FIRST’s stated vision is to bring together incident response and security teams from every country to help ensure a safe internet. Its published mission rests on three areas:
- Global coordination: providing platforms, means, and tools that help responders find the right partner and collaborate.
- Global language: building common understanding through training and initiatives that support common data-transfer methods.
- Policy and governance: engaging technical and nontechnical stakeholders so that teams can operate in an environment suited to their goals.
The full wording is on the FIRST Vision and Mission Statement page.
Peer collaboration and the annual conference
FIRST’s 2024 annual report describes peer-to-peer collaboration that includes CSIRTs, product security incident response teams (PSIRTs), information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs), security operations centers (SOCs), and independent security researchers. The organization also runs an annual conference. The 38th Annual FIRST Conference, listed on its 2026 conference page, is framed as a forum for worldwide coordination and cooperation.
Read the FIRST Annual Report 2024 and the 2026 conference overview for details.
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Frameworks and shared vocabulary
FIRST develops and supports community resources. The best known is the CSIRT Services Framework, which provides a structured list of service categories and definitions that teams can use when choosing or improving their service portfolio. It works as a common vocabulary and a starting point. It does not prescribe a single implementation, and it does not assess a team’s capability, maturity, or quality.
The PDF at the address below was identified as version 2.0.1 (Review). Check FIRST’s standards pages before treating it as the current edition, since versions change.
CSIRT Services Framework v2.0.1 (Review)
The framework’s wider adoption was publicised in May 2017, when FIRST released version 1.1. Serge Droz, then a member of the FIRST Board of Directors, said in that announcement: “Version 1.1 of the Services Framework is a major development over the previous release. The framework’s use exceeded our expectations by far and is today helping to contribute to a more capable incident response community in ways we had not originally envisioned. I am proud that FIRST is making a positive impact on CSIRT operations around the world.” The announcement is available in the FIRST newsroom.
Who participates
FIRST brings together incident response and product security teams from government, commercial, educational, and academic organizations. Its annual report also places information sharing and analysis centers, security operations centers, and independent researchers within the wider peer network.
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The FIRST Teams directory lists participating teams and their contact information. Those contact details are for incident-response purposes only, and the directory prohibits solicitation and marketing. Anyone using it should keep to that purpose.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Membership figures and how to cite them
Membership totals change over time, and the figures published by FIRST and related documents use different dates and categories. They should not be merged into one number or presented as a current exact count without a date. The table below lists each figure with its source and date.
| Source | Date of figure | Figure as published | Category as published |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST homepage | Undated on the page; reflects the page at retrieval | More than 800 members | Members (category not stated) |
| 2026 conference overview | 2026 | Over 800 member teams from more than 100 countries | Member teams |
| 2024 strategy document | 2024 | 165 individual members and 762 teams in 111 countries | Individual members and teams, shown separately |
| 2023 request for proposal (public relations) | 2023 | Over 650 teams in over 100 countries | Teams |
For the most accurate figure, use the newest dated source and name its category. The homepage and conference overview are the official pages cited here; the 2024 strategy document and 2023 request for proposal are older secondary references.
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FIRST is best understood as the network that lets other teams work together. A CSIRT handles incidents for its constituency. A PSIRT handles vulnerabilities in a vendor’s products. FIRST connects these teams, along with ISACs, SOCs, and researchers, and provides shared vocabulary and forums in which they can cooperate. When you see FIRST referenced in a security report or a team’s documentation, it usually signals that the team participates in that cooperative network, not that it is part of FIRST itself.
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