October 11, 2023 at 01:01PM
Cyberattacks are on the rise, with a 38% increase in global incidents last year. Businesses need to focus on prevention and mitigation, which requires having plans in place. These plans include a business continuity plan, a crisis communications plan, and an incident response plan. It is crucial to align and test these plans through tabletop exercises to ensure effective collaboration. Furthermore, people’s roles and emotions should be considered in addition to technology when responding to a breach.
Based on the meeting notes, it is clear that cyberattacks are on the rise and businesses need to be prepared with comprehensive plans to handle security incidents. Three key plans to consider are:
1. Business continuity plan (IT/finance): This plan should outline specific instructions for recovery from various potential problems, including disaster recovery processes, external providers or resources to contact, backup restoration, and ownership. The goal is to ensure business continuity in the event of an incident.
2. Crisis communications plan (marketing/PR): It is crucial to have a plan that defines who is responsible for messaging to internal stakeholders, customers, the board, and the public. Detailed instructions should be included regarding decision-makers and teams involved in communication. This plan helps prevent confusion and ensures effective communication.
3. Incident response plan (security): This plan should outline the steps that security and technology teams need to take in response to a potential incident. This includes identification, containment, and remediation of threats, as well as recovery and learning from the incident. Appointing an incident commander is important to lead response efforts and consult with security leaders and third-party experts.
These plans should be aligned with each other and require proactive collaboration between leaders to avoid conflicts. It is also recommended to stress-test the plans through tabletop exercises, which simulate breach scenarios and assess the effectiveness of the plans and the collaboration of team members. This helps identify areas of improvement and ways to reduce risk.
Lastly, it is essential to remember that people play a crucial role in incident response, and plans should provide clear guidance to eliminate emotional factors. While security technology is important, the entire organization, including IT, security, finance, and sales, should understand their roles in achieving a positive outcome during a security incident.