Cybersecurity is no longer just a top priority; it’s an urgent necessity. With cyberattacks increasing both in frequency and sophistication, every company—from small startups to global enterprises—must evaluate its ability to recover and adapt following an attack. This is known as your Cyber Resilience posture.
But what is Cyber Resilience, and how can you evaluate it effectively? More importantly, why might you need an outside expert to help you? Let’s break it down.
What Is Cyber Resilience?
At its core, Cyber Resilience is more than just cybersecurity. While cybersecurity focuses on protecting your business from potential attacks, resilience includes your company’s ability to operate and recover even when systems are compromised.
A cyber-resilient company is like a ship with solid waterproof compartments. If one section is flooded, the rest stay afloat. This “design-for-failure” mindset ensures that critical business functions—like customer support or financial transactions—continue despite a security breach.
Evaluating your Cyber Resilience posture involves answering a crucial question: If an attack happens today, how well can we bounce back?
5 Ways to Evaluate Your Cyber Resilience
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Assess Your Threat Landscape
Start by identifying the specific types of attacks your organization is most vulnerable to. While ransomware might dominate headlines, companies grapple daily with phishing, supply chain attacks, insider threats, and DDoS attacks.
Steps to Follow:
- Conduct a risk assessment to gauge which assets (data, software, hardware) are most valuable to attackers.
- Monitor real-time threat intelligence feeds and cybersecurity reports to understand evolving risks in your industry.
Why It’s Important:
Knowing your threat landscape allows you to allocate resources strategically—bolstering defenses where needed most while avoiding wasted effort.
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Test Your Incident Response Plan
Having a response plan is great. But has it been tested under real conditions? Developing a clear, actionable plan is just the first step. You need to verify its effectiveness with simulations and drills.
Ask These Questions:
- Does everyone on your team understand their role in mitigating an incident?
- Can your response framework handle threats at scale?
- How quickly can you isolate affected systems to contain an attack?
Testing your plan through tabletop exercises or full-scale simulations ensures your team can act decisively and cohesively during an actual incident.
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Evaluate Backup and Recovery Systems
Backup systems are a fundamental component of cyber resilience. Yet, too many businesses think having backups is enough. The real challenge lies in recovery—how quickly can you restore access to critical operations after an attack?
What to Review:
- Are backups stored offline to protect against ransomware encryptions?
- How frequently are backups updated?
- Have recovery times been tested to ensure they meet operational needs?
Aim for redundancy. Maintain both local backups for quick restores and cloud backups for long-term protection against disasters like fires or floods.
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Review Your Security Awareness Training
Your people are your first line of defense—and often, your most exploited vulnerability. Studies continue to show that phishing attacks thrive because employees fall for cleverly crafted traps.
Key Metrics to Track:
- What percentage of your employees have clicked on phishing simulations?
- Are team members aware of social engineering tactics like “smishing” (SMS phishing) or “quishing” (QR code phishing)?
A strong Cyber Resilience posture depends on fostering a security-conscious culture. Regular training sessions, phishing simulations, and encouraging employees to report suspicious activity are essential.
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Examine Your Compliance Framework
If your business handles customer data—whether financial, health, or personal information—you likely have compliance mandates to uphold. From GDPR to HIPAA and NIST, regulations not only set data protection standards but also indirectly strengthen Cyber Resilience.
Steps to Consider:
- Conduct audits to verify compliance with global and regional regulations.
- Use frameworks like ISO 27001 to identify and manage risks preemptively.
- Prepare for the evolving regulatory landscape, including industry-specific updates like SEC cybersecurity rules.
Non-compliance isn’t just costly in fines—it’s a reputational risk you can’t afford in today’s breach-sensitive market.
Why Outside Experts Make Sense
There’s no denying the value of in-house cybersecurity teams. However, when it comes to evaluating your Cyber Resilience, an unbiased outside perspective can uncover hidden vulnerabilities and provide strategic opportunities you might otherwise overlook.
Specialized Knowledge: Cybersecurity consultants work across industries daily, giving them unparalleled insight into what solutions or practices succeed globally.
Objectivity: Internal teams might unintentionally overlook gaps in their own processes or become accustomed to weaknesses.
Advanced Tools: Partnering with outside experts often gives companies access to cutting-edge tools for threat hunting, compliance monitoring, and recovery testing.
What to Look for in an Expert
Experience: Choose firms with proven track records in your industry.
Customization: Avoid one-size-fits-all solutions. Look for experts who tailor strategies to your company’s unique needs.
Ongoing Support: Cyber resilience isn’t a one-time fix. Engage with partners who offer continuous monitoring and support.
By collaborating with the right partner, businesses can create a robust cyber resilience strategy that aligns with modern risks and long-term goals.
Start Strengthening Your Cyber Resilience Today
Cyber Resilience is no longer optional. It’s a business-critical effort to ensure ongoing operations, protect valuable assets, and maintain customer trust. Evaluating your posture is the first step—and one that no company can afford to delay.
Still unsure where to begin? My Resource Partners offers a FREE Cybersecurity Assessment conducted by a cyber solutions engineer. This is a deep dive into what your current environment and cyber strategy. Our cyber resilience expert will identify potential vulnerabilities and assist your team in crafting a tailored Cybersecurity Roadmap. Their insights could be the difference between a minor disruption and a catastrophic failure.
With your assessment in place, our technology advisors will quickly connect you with the providers who best match your criteria and budget. We’ll arrange consultations and demos so your team can see these solutions in action. Plus, through our national wholesale network, you can expect to save 35% versus going direct.
