Improve Your Cybersecurity Capabilities With Crisis Simulation

If you strive to build a strong and serious company, you should constantly assess and work on areas of opportunity for improvement. After all, an organization is only as strong as its weakest link. With that in mind, we’d like to emphasize how vital it is for all the personnel to be ready for the worst.

Everyone should be aware of their responsibilities and roles before, throughout, and after a cybersecurity event. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by crisis simulation. It’ll put the whole system under pressure, testing the processes designed for such scenarios.
Another critical point that should be tested is the assembled teams. The information that your company will obtain in the end, no matter the results, will be of great value. If the outcome is positive, you’ll be satisfied knowing that you have a good system in place. If the results are not great, your company will have a better picture of what needs improvement. Either way, your company wins.
A crisis simulation provides the involved personnel with a priceless experience of real situations, so they’re able to put their skills to the test. All of that, while being in a controlled and safe environment — there’s no real danger involved. Some of the advantages of running a crisis simulation are:

• Being able to determine the actual capabilities of your response to incidents
• Determine the efficacy of the current practices
• Recognize the areas that need to be improved or refined
• Revise and update processes and documentation based on the results

The Most Common Mistakes During a Cybersecurity Crisis

Learning from other organizations’ mistakes is also important to prevent as many mistakes as possible. As expected, there are common bad scenarios that many companies go through because of lacking research. Secure Stay has put together a list of the most common mistakes that companies make during a crisis of a cybersecurity nature.

1. The crisis team of your company shouldn’t focus only on cybersecurity and IT disciplines.

Simulation participants are usually individuals concentrated only on IT and security. Nevertheless, a real crisis needs a diverse team made of Finance, Legal, PR, Marketing, Risk, IT, Security, and HR. To provide an integral perspective, ensure that your team has critical representatives from every department. That same team should be tested during the simulations to practice working cooperatively.

2. Create a plan and use it. Designing a plan should be the first step

Many companies have plans for the management of incidents or disasters, including directions on how to approach an event. That is a significant first step, but frequently, those documents are underused or outdated. These plans should be revised at least once a year. It’s essential to consider new structures of the firm or team members. Overall, the documents should be structured to be used in the heat of the moment. Most of the time, the plans are not consulted during actual events because of the tight time frames in play.

3. Documentation of everything. Keep in mind that knowledge is power

Every real crisis or even a simulation provides helpful information that helps the following incident. Every note taken during incidents, even a simulation, can be invaluable for reviewing after the event. Make sure to document the lessons learned and the time it took to make decisions.

4. Ensure that your plan is not restricted only to working hours

Many organizations have experienced people with a lot of knowledge at their disposal. Although, these crisis scenarios are often presented at the most inconvenient times. Your security system cannot rely on the availability of specific individuals. If possible, organize a backup team, preferably in a different time zone, with the practice, knowledge, and authority to carry out the crisis plan. These precaution steps are there in case the event occurs after the working hours of the primary team.

Conclusion

Finally, it would be best to remember that time plays a key role in case of an attack. A couple of hours can make a big difference. A delay in the response can make a massive difference between a disaster or a triumphant crisis response. Make sure to follow the advice provided by Secure Stay. Implement them into your cybersecurity strategy; they could help your company avoid enormous potential losses.