Incident response training is essential for cybersecurity professionals to prepare for and handle cyberattacks. However, not everyone in your organization may share the same sense of urgency or commitment to this training. How can you create a sense of urgency for incident response training and motivate your team to participate and learn? Here are some tips to help you.
One of the most effective ways to create a sense of urgency for incident response training is to explain the risks and consequences of not being prepared for cyberattacks. You can use real-life examples, case studies, or simulations to show how cyberattacks can disrupt your operations, damage your reputation, compromise your data, and expose you to legal liabilities. You can also highlight the potential costs of recovery, remediation, and fines that you may incur if you fail to respond effectively. By showing the negative impacts of cyberattacks, you can help your team understand the importance and value of incident response training.
Explaining the risks is great, but explaining the benefits is also critical. Like anything else, incident response is a skill that gets better with practice. However, incidents are typically very rare occurrences. So, the only way to get prepared is to practice. And that practice requires investment, not by finding the time for it but by making the time for it. Other things you can try: - Put it on people’s annual goals and tie compensation / promotions to participation. - Put it on people’s calendars so it doesn’t get moved. - Make sure you have executive buy in
Look to the business and identify the most critical assets to maintain its continuity. Start with the BIA (Business Impact Assessment) and link with assets that supports the most critical processes to the business. Any threats facing critical assets should be considered a priority based on the threat.
Creating a sense of urgency for incident response training begins with clearly communicating the potential risks and consequences of inadequate preparation. Emphasize the real-world impact of cyber incidents on business operations, data integrity, and reputation. Illustrate examples of recent incidents in your industry or similar organizations to underscore the urgency of being well-prepared. By highlighting the tangible risks, you instill a sense of responsibility and urgency among employees to actively engage in incident response training.
One effective approach is to emphasize the real and immediate threats that organizations face. Share relevant case studies or incidents in the industry to illustrate the potential consequences of inadequate response preparedness
In my view, overemphasizing cyber threats can lead to fear fatigue and does not automatically translate into proactive behavior change. Overexposure to threat warnings can also lead to desensitization. Instead of focusing solely on raising awareness of cyber threats, it is important to also provide people with concrete steps they can take to protect themselves and their organization. Frame security measures within the context of positive outcomes, such as protecting business continuity, safeguarding sensitive data, and enabling innovation. Encourage ongoing training and skill development for security professionals to keep pace with evolving threats and technologies.
Another way to create a sense of urgency for incident response training is to set clear and realistic goals for your team. You can use the SMART framework to define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives for your training program. For example, you can set a goal to complete a certain number of training modules, achieve a certain level of proficiency, or pass a certain assessment within a given timeframe. You can also align your goals with your organizational strategy, vision, and values, and show how incident response training supports them. By setting clear goals, you can help your team focus on the desired outcomes and track their progress.
From my experience, how we used to report cyber risks within NATO and National Committees was to start with the stakeholder's set of strategic goals and objectives. Than cyber risk was used to explain the impact on their goals and objectives, in multiple scenarios with different outcomes. We started with the What If questions and answered them in a way that provoked curiosity, excitement and positive emotions. Then we looked at what needed to be done to bridge the gap by demonstrating the current baseline. So in order to set your goals to create a sense of urgency, you first need to understand the goals of your stakeholders. And communicate them in a way that is interlinked.
Engaging stakeholders with cybersecurity wasn't about dry technical reports, it was about igniting their curiosity and driving action. We started by understanding their core goals and aspirations, then used compelling "what if" scenarios to paint a picture of cyber risks impacting their vision. These weren't fear-mongering tales; they were thought-provoking exercises that sparked interest and a sense of shared responsibility. By demonstrating the current security landscape and existing vulnerabilities, we then bridged the gap between where they were and where they needed to be. This approach didn't just inform stakeholders; it empowered them to champion cybersecurity initiatives and build a more resilient future.
Defining the specific scope, goals, objectives and mission is an important aspect. Let the team know what has to be achieved, how and why?. This lays a strong baseline and a target for the team to work on. It will also enable to overcome the limitation of time, by dividing and achieving different activities by defined people, reducing the work load of each individual through cooperation.
Long story short, if you are not prepared, you will not succeed. This works for anything. Once you achieve a success rate on your IR training, start working with scenarios and test those based on the knowledge acquired from that. If something fails during this exercises, you might need to enhance the training or even your IR plan
Setting clear and realistic goals is key to fostering urgency in incident response training. Employing the SMART framework to establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives sharpens focus and guides the training program. Aligning these goals with the organizational strategy and demonstrating how they support the broader vision and values contextualize the training's importance. This approach not only directs attention to desired outcomes but also enables progress tracking, ensuring that the training's value is understood and pursued with intent.
A third way to create a sense of urgency for incident response training is to provide feedback to your team. Feedback is crucial for learning and improvement, as it helps your team identify their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for development. You can use various methods to provide feedback, such as quizzes, surveys, tests, or peer reviews. You can also use feedback to recognize and reward your team's achievements, as well as to address and correct any gaps or errors. By providing feedback, you can help your team monitor their performance and motivate them to improve.
I truly believe by investing in immersive experiences where people's senses are used to understand the consequences of their decisions, the experience of data breaches and crisis within a psychological and guided environment - will create a sense of urgency from a positive place, not a place of fear. They will understand the WHY of their desired behaviours to comply and contribute to higher levels of preparedness, resilience and readiness within the organisation.
Providing feedback is an art that can profoundly impact personal growth, skill development, and organizational progress. It's not merely about pointing out flaws, effective feedback aims to inspire improvement, encourage strengths, and foster a culture of continuous learning.
The best way to support and motivate human being naturally is psychological support, ideas, motivation, positive feedbacks e. t. c. Giving your teams feedback after each incident shows them how they are appreciated and what kind of job they are doing. This will raise the morale of the team and builds cooperation based on good spirit.
Providing feedback is essential to instilling a sense of urgency for incident response training. Feedback helps teams recognize their strengths and areas needing development. Employing quizzes, surveys, tests, or peer reviews are effective methods for delivering this feedback. Recognition of achievements and addressing gaps or errors through feedback not only aids in performance monitoring but also serves as a powerful motivator for continual improvement. This approach ensures the training is dynamic, relevant, and focused on enhancing the team's incident response capabilities.
A fourth way to create a sense of urgency for incident response training is to create competition among your team. Competition can be a powerful driver of engagement, as it challenges your team to excel and outperform others. You can use gamification techniques, such as badges, points, leaderboards, or rewards, to create a competitive environment for your training program. You can also use scenarios, role-plays, or exercises to simulate real-world situations and test your team's skills and knowledge. By creating competition, you can help your team have fun and learn from each other.
Gamification and competition make incident response training a lot more fun and engaging. Too many people believe that a cyber incident won’t actually happen to them and it’s a pretty big uphill battle to get people to take training seriously. Consider having a lot of different scenarios, break the group into different teams of people who don’t normally work together and put together some fun prizes. The goal is to get people to think about things that might’ve been in their blind spots and get the conversation going. Then the learning begins.
Prioritize tasks by considering urgency, importance, and deadlines. Break down projects into smaller tasks and reassess priorities regularly.
Competition is a fantastic tool for learning, but like all tools, it must be used at the right time. Incident response is about teamwork. The promotion of individual awards and training that leads towards a singular mindset to win competitions, conflicts with the ethos of team working. Creating a culture of collaboration and enforcing the values of team working will ensure that when an incident arrives, an organisation will have a group of people who are willing to work together to achieve their ultimate goal.
Competing can be an excellent method for learning, but just like any tool, it's crucial to employ it appropriately. When it comes to incident response, teamwork is paramount. Focusing solely on individual accolades and training geared toward winning competitions can clash with the core principles of teamwork. To prepare for handling incidents effectively, fostering a culture of collaboration and emphasizing the importance of working as a team becomes crucial. This ensures that when an incident occurs, the organization has a cohesive group of individuals ready to collaborate towards a common goal.
Creating competition within the team is an effective way to foster a sense of urgency in incident response training. Employing gamification techniques like badges, points, and leaderboards introduces a dynamic element, encouraging team members to excel and learn. Simulating real-world scenarios and challenges further engages and tests their skills. This competitive yet collaborative environment not only makes learning more enjoyable but also promotes knowledge sharing and peer learning, enhancing the overall effectiveness and enthusiasm for the training.
A fifth way to create a sense of urgency for incident response training is to foster collaboration among your team. Collaboration can be a valuable source of learning, as it enables your team to share ideas, experiences, and best practices. You can use tools, such as online platforms, forums, or chat groups, to facilitate communication and interaction among your team. You can also use group projects, assignments, or discussions to encourage your team to work together and solve problems. By fostering collaboration, you can help your team build trust and rapport and learn from each other.
Fostering collaboration is a key tactic in creating a sense of urgency for incident response training. Collaboration allows team members to share ideas, experiences, and best practices, enriching the learning experience. Utilizing online platforms, forums, or chat groups facilitates this interaction. Encouraging group projects or discussions promotes problem-solving and teamwork. By building a collaborative environment, the team not only learns from each other but also builds trust and rapport, enhancing the collective capability to respond to incidents effectively.
From my experience making this personal can help. For example, how much would you care if you speak about the impact of data breaches on department A, B or C? If you are honest with yourself, you are likely to care less. However, you are likely to care more if you look at it from a personal lens, the impact on John, Maria and Fatima. Your colleagues who you drink coffee with every morning, who now have to work overtime, spend time away from their family to focus on recovery measures. Just because cyber hygiene was not taking seriously and because the incident response plan implementation and testing exercise had no buy in. This is a general example, but when you make it personal - there is an emotional attachment that people care about.
Teamwork and cross-department collaboration play a vital role in your incident response plan and its execution. In our experience, companies that excel in this area often have designated team leaders who actively participate in incident response practice and training. This commitment significantly enhances their cyber security maturity and efficiency. By assigning specific points of accountability and responsibility, these leaders inject a sense of seriousness and motivation into the process. They establish clear deadlines for incident response practices and encourage peer reviews. This proactive approach ensures that the team remains well-prepared and continuously improves their response capabilities.
Integrating collaboration as a cornerstone strategy, a fifth method to instill a sense of urgency for incident response training involves fostering a culture of teamwork among your team members. By actively promoting collaborative efforts and emphasizing the collective responsibility in handling potential incidents, you not only enhance the overall efficiency of your response mechanisms but also contribute to a heightened awareness of the importance of continuous training. This collaborative approach not only strengthens the team's ability to respond promptly but also ensures a seamless integration of individual skills into a cohesive and resilient incident response strategy.
A sixth way to create a sense of urgency for incident response training is to lead by example. As a leader, you have a significant influence on your team's attitude and behavior. You can demonstrate your commitment and enthusiasm for incident response training by participating in it yourself, sharing your learning outcomes, and applying your skills and knowledge in practice. You can also show your support and appreciation for your team's efforts, and provide them with the resources and guidance they need. By leading by example, you can help your team emulate your example and follow your lead.
Leadership plays a big part in incident response, as does responsibility. Ensuring that individuals are given responsibility for the completion of tasks or specific roles to play, will ensure buy-in and commitment. For some people that will come from the desire to do well and achieve, for others the fear of failure. This is where the leader plays a crucial role. The leader must have a good relationship with their teams, knowing the individuals and understanding them. The decision on the roles and responsibilities given out will be based on their capabilities but also their motivators.
In the world of incident response planning, we often encounter a couple of common missteps. First, it's essential to incorporate practice scenarios to test our response plans thoroughly. It's like preparing for a game – practice makes perfect! Secondly, let's not fall into the tech trap! While technology is crucial, we mustn't forget the power of human training and decision-making. They're the secret sauce that can make or break our response efforts. And in larger organizations, I've seen senior leaders occasionally left out of the incident response loop. But when those critical decisions come knocking that is where mistakes can happen.
One of the best way to explain something to non-technical folks is via analogies. Imagine your organization as a building, your data as precious assets. Incident response training is like a fire drill. Cyber incidents are unexpected fires. Unpreparedness risks damage. Training is a preventive measure, minimizing risks, and ensuring a swift, coordinated response. Just as a fire drill enhances evacuation coordination, incident response training fosters teamwork and communication during cyber crises. It's about reducing panic and protecting valuables – in this case, your organization's data and reputation.
Language matters and incident response planning may be perceived as too technical, too boring or too complex. Become creative about it and leverage the power of storytelling and gamification to speak to people's hearts and minds. When you look at why propaganda is successful even if rooted in injustice and unethical leadership, it is because they appeal to people's emotions not only their mind. And often the opposing parties use data and stats to counter the stories and create a sense of urgency which does not have the same impact. I am not saying to use propaganda of course, but if you don't appeal to people's rational and emotive part of the brain you won't create a sense of urgency and incentivise them to take action.
Two things you need to consider, urgency on training internal teams to be ready to respond to incidents and maintaining the incident response plan aligned with the business and up-to-date. For this last one, make sure you build a robust Business Impact Assessment and a Business Continuity Plan. Those will drive the prioritization when an Incident comes up
One of the best ways I have seen this done is to ensure that the training and scenarios presented to the audience are relevant to their roles and responsibilities and backed by real life examples.