In an era where cyber incidents are not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’, I’ve observed something concerning: many organizations have beautiful incident response plans… that have never been tested in real-world scenarios. Let me share a story that changed my perspective forever.

The Wake-Up Call

Last year, I witnessed a Fortune 500 company scramble during an actual ransomware attack. Despite having a 100-page incident response plan, their teams were like actors who had memorized their lines but never rehearsed together. The result? Chaos, confusion, and costly delays.

Why Traditional Planning Falls Short

Think about it – would you trust a pilot who has only read flight manuals but never used a simulator? Or a surgical team that has never practiced together before entering an operating room? Then why do we expect our cyber incident response teams to perform flawlessly without practice?

The Power of Tabletop Exercises

• Reality Check: During a recent exercise with a client, their CTO was confident about their backup systems. However, when challenged about accessing backups during a simulated ransomware attack, they realized their backup authentication shared the same compromised Active Directory. This discovery during practice potentially saved them millions in actual crisis.
• Team Dynamics: Technical capabilities are just one piece of the puzzle. In a crisis, how does your IT team communicate with Legal? How does Corporate Communications craft messages without compromising the incident response? These human elements can only be refined through practice.
• Regulatory Readiness: With regulations like GDPR, PDPL, and NIS2 requiring incident reporting within strict timeframes, can your teams coordinate effectively under pressure? Tabletop exercises help you identify and fix communication bottlenecks before they cost you compliance penalties.

Why Twice a Year is the Minimum

• Teams stay familiar with procedures
• New scenarios can be incorporated
• Lessons learned can be implemented and tested
• Muscle memory develops for crisis response

Making It Work

The key to successful tabletop exercises isn’t in creating the most dramatic scenarios – it’s about making them relevant and actionable. Start with likely scenarios specific to your industry. Involve all stakeholders, not just IT. Most importantly, create a safe space for mistakes and learning.

The Real Cost of Not Practicing

Consider this: The average cost of a data breach in 2024 is $4.45 million. The cost of a well-run tabletop exercise? A fraction of that. Yet many organizations still see these exercises as “nice to have” rather than essential.

A Call to Action

As we navigate an increasingly complex threat landscape, the question isn’t whether you can afford to run regular tabletop exercises – it’s whether you can afford not to. Your incident response plan is only as good as your team’s ability to execute it under pressure.

The Next Step

When was your last tabletop exercise? If you can’t remember, or if it was more than six months ago, it’s time to schedule one. Your organization’s resilience in a real crisis depends on it.

Would you bet your organization’s future on an untested plan? Are you ready to test your readiness? Let’s talk!

#Cybersecurity #IncidentResponse #RiskManagement #BusinessContinuity #CyberResilience