Introduction

Good cyber resilience involves planning, testing and learning from incidents. How well do you know your company’s incident response procedures? Do you have easy access to resources and reminders about where to report suspicious behaviors? Are there reminders around your workplace with I.T. support numbers and where to seek more information about your role in incident response?

Organizations must assume breaches will occur and focus on rapid detection, containment and recovery. As a purveyor of sensitive data within the company, you are part of these procedures! It’s critical that you fully understand your role in the event of suspicious behavior or a full-on cyberattack.

What’s Your Role?

Not only do you have a responsibility to the people whose private data you manage at work, but you also have to keep in mind that everyone and anyone can be a target of a cybercriminal.

Whether you work at a large organization or a very small business, cybercriminals target anyone they think is vulnerable! That’s why it’s important to have a plan in place, no matter how tech-savvy you are.

Here’s the thing: you can’t prevent every single cyberattack. In today’s hyper-connected world, it’s a matter of when—not if. 95% of cyberattacks begin because of simple, human error. Therefore, it’s of paramount importance that you have procedures in place that explain what to do when you spot abnormal system behavior and where to report malicious encounters.

The Impact of Cyber Resilience

There’s good news amidst the danger! With a proper incident response plan in place, you can be prepared to bounce back quickly. In an emergency situation, you don’t want to waste time panicking about where or how to send up red flags. You want to jump right into damage control, thereby minimizing the negative fallout of a breach.

That’s where cyber resilience comes in. Think of it like your digital fire drill. By planning, testing, and learning from any hiccups, you’ll be better equipped to handle whatever comes your way.

So, what can you do?

• Plan ahead. Take some time to think about the things you absolutely can’t afford to lose. Is it precious family photos? Important work documents? Once you know your priorities, you can figure out how to back them up securely (think external hard drive or cloud storage).
• Be ready with automatic detection software. Antivirus software is a must-have. Most programs will also monitor for suspicious activity and alert you if something seems off.
• Practice makes perfect. Just like a fire drill, put your plan into action! Test your storage systems and backups, to guarantee they work well before an incident occurs. This way, you won’t be scrambling in a crisis.
• Learn from every incident. Even minor hiccups can be valuable lessons. If you do get hit by a cyberattack (like malware or phishing), take some time to figure out what happened and how you can prevent it from happening again.

Conclusion

Incident response is no joke. When a serious security incident hits you or your company, there are really important steps that need to be taken AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to minimize the repercussions of that event.

Remember: Cybersecurity isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being prepared. By taking some simple steps, you can make your digital life a whole lot more secure!