Mastering Cyber Resilience: A Guide to Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercises
By Nick Polce, Chief Technology Officer
IT Insights of Rochester is a local IT service provider offering managed IT security services and technology solutions in Rochester and nearby areas. Read more about our cybersecurity protection services for an overview of the various levels of protection we offer.
This is the final entry in a four-part series of articles. Our previous post explored powerful tools that form the cornerstone of our third level of cyber-related protection. In this post of the mini-series, we’ll discuss the essence of cybersecurity tabletop exercises.
UNDERSTANDING CYBERSECURITY TABLETOP EXERCISES
Now more than ever, organizations face evolving threats, with cyber incidents risking operations and data security. But how can organizations prepare themselves effectively for such scenarios? Enter cybersecurity tabletop exercises, crafted to simulate real-world cyber incidents and evaluate an organization’s response mechanisms. These exercises enhance incident handling and uncover hidden weaknesses that may hinder an organization’s response and recovery capabilities.
But why exactly are these exercises necessary, and how are they conducted? Let’s dive into the core principles and practices of cybersecurity tabletop exercises to understand their crucial role in fortifying organizational cyber resilience.
WHAT IS A CYBERSECURITY TABLETOP EXERCISE?
A cybersecurity tabletop exercise tests and improves an organization’s response and incident handling within the cybersecurity realm safely and responsibly. A practice scenario can show problems that could prevent a company from recovering from a cyber attack. This helps the company identify and address potential issues before they happen.
By simulating a cyber attack, the company can test its response plan and improve its readiness. This proactive approach can ultimately help the company better protect itself against real cyber threats.
Why do I need a cybersecurity tabletop exercise?
You can’t predict what you’re unaware of! Often, unexpected threats can severely impact an organization. Tabletop exercises will help uncover these unforeseen threats and give organizations time to mitigate them.
How are cybersecurity tabletop exercises conducted?
You can conduct cybersecurity tabletop exercises in various ways. Typically, organizations hold these exercises in person, gathering all key personnel in a conference room. Some customers choose to use these exercises as surprises to make them as realistic as they can be. Others prefer to have them well planned out and structured ahead of time.
The scenarios can cover a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from natural disasters to insider threats. The facilitator gives a problem to the group, and they work together to figure out, deal with, and fix the issue. Meanwhile, an evaluator assists with note-taking. Following the tabletop exercise, a retrospective discussion takes place, offering feedback and recommendations for the next steps.
Who should be involved in a cybersecurity tabletop exercise?
Deciding who should participate in the tabletop exercise is critical. Ideally, you’ll want to involve anyone who might be responding to a cyber incident. Organizations must keep in mind the full range of what it entails to respond and recover from an incident. Many departments, including IT, participate in incidents.
What if there are financial implications that need to involve finance? Maybe the event is a natural disaster and requires input from facilities.
Perhaps the incident is going to trigger considerable public interest, who is going to talk to the media? Do we need to consider any legal ramifications? This is why it’s important to have all possible key stakeholders involved.
How often should I be doing a cybersecurity tabletop exercise?
It’s hard to get all key stakeholders in a room for a couple of hours at a time. This might be your biggest driver of frequency. At an absolute minimum, organizations should be performing one tabletop exercise per year, ideally two per year if possible.
Additionally, anytime there is a large change within the organization, a tabletop exercise should be conducted with a strong focus on this change. These changes could be personnel changes, line of business application changes, or procedural changes.
Am I ready for a cybersecurity tabletop exercise?
Not all organizations are ready to participate in a tabletop exercise on day one. But with a little bit of work, any organization would be ready to participate in their first tabletop exercise.
You should have a simple plan for responding to incidents and recovering from disasters before doing the exercise. You can proceed without these things, but it’s best to have a plan to prevent inefficiency and resource waste.
After making a plan for emergencies, practice with a tabletop exercise to be ready for any incidents or disasters. The tabletop exercise will help you fill in the gaps in the incident response plan and disaster recovery plan.
Ready to enroll in IT Insights cybersecurity protection?
If you are a current client, we encourage you to contact your account managers – either Tony, Alex, or Chris with questions. If you’re not a client, contact Christopher Bierasinski to learn how IT Insights can help strengthen your cyber resilience.
