To put in simple terms, Cyber Resilience means the ability of a company to get back up on its feet after a security attack. An organization also can limit the impact of security incidents. Cyber resilience is an approach to cybersecurity strategies, along with business continuity management. It consists of two primary components. The first one focuses on preventative measures like continuous monitoring and threat reporting. The second one focuses on developing appropriate incident response plans in case of a cyberattack. Unfortunately, most businesses don’t understand the importance of the second step and lag at it.
What are the risks
Before you choosing the response or security plan and implementing it, you must first assess the risks to which your company is maybe exposed. By evaluating and analyzing the risks, you can choose a suitable plan that will serve your specific needs. The risks can be strategic, reputational, operational, transactional, and compliance.
- Strategic risks refer to the failed attempt at implementing business plans that align with the strategic goals of the company.
- Reputational risks are easy to understand. These refer to negative public opinion or negative publicity.
- Operational risks are the failed internal processes, people, or systems that amount to a loss.
- Transactional risks are issues with customer service, employee service, or product delivery.
- Compliance means the risks circling the violations of laws, rules, or regulations.
Ways to improve cyber resilience
An incident response plan will comprise of the actions that will be taken if a data security incident happens. The objective of a response plan is to identify the attack, limit the damage to minimum possible, and eliminate the root cause. A quick response from the organization can reduce the losses, restore all the processes, systems, and services. A quick response can mitigate exploited vulnerabilities.
Preparation– Put together an incident response team and outline their distinct roles and responsibilities. Develop rigid policies to implement in the event of a cyberattack along with a communication plan.
Identification– Decide what to identify as a threat. Set a criterion that will call the team to action to assess the incident and gather additional evidence, for example, a phishing attack.
Containment– Containment includes an instant response plus a long-term containment plan to diminish the damage. It consists of installing security patches on affected systems.
Eradication– Limit the threat and restore all the systems to their initial state after eradicating other potential risks.
Recovery- Ensure that the attacked systems are not in danger anymore. The systems can be restored to initial working conditions. Monitor the network system to assess the possibility of another incident and prevent it.
Lessons Learned– After an attack and its recovery, review the measures you took, and analyze the room for improvement. This incident report can be used as a benchmark for future comparison. It is useful for training purposes for the new incident response team.
