Preventing and responding to a BOOM event: 5 steps to adopting a cyber resilient lifestyle

In today's digital landscape, the fear of data breaches looms large over businesses, threatening their bottom line and reputation. Whether the result of human error, system glitches or a malicious act, data breaches are one of the biggest, most expensive threats, and cannot be risked.?

The moment that a breach has successfully attacked an organisation's defences is colloquially known as a BOOM event. From a breach occurring, to it being made public, each critical event in the timeline is a “BOOM” event. Before the breach is discovered and cyber thieves are at work, it’s “left of boom”, everything to the “right of boom” is about responding and dealing with the security breach. Businesses need to protect themselves so the left of the BOOM position doesn’t occur in the first place.

Before it can take place or whether an organisation is left or right of a BOOM event, a cyber secure and cyber resilient approach is required to meet the challenges posed by security threats.?

There are 5 key steps for improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity and adopting a cyber resilient lifestyle.

1. Identify risks

The first step to adopting a cyber resilient lifestyle, is ensuring that your organisation understands the risks associated with cyber threats. By fostering an organisational understanding of the risks posed by threats to systems, people, assets, data, and capabilities, proactive measures can be taken to shore up defences.

2. Protect critical services

In the age of cybercrime, safeguarding critical services is paramount. Organisations must ensure the uninterrupted delivery of critical services by implementing appropriate safeguards, providing tools, policies, and procedures designed to secure systems, networks, and data from threats.

3. Detect threats in real-time

In the cat-and-mouse game that is cybersecurity, early detection is fundamental. By deploying cutting-edge technologies, organisations can identify cybersecurity events as they occur, enabling swift and decisive action to mitigate potential damage.

4. Respond with precision

When the alarm bells ring, swift and decisive action is imperative. Organisations must have robust incident response plans in place, paired with the agility to take immediate action in the event of a cybersecurity incident, minimising impact and restoring normalcy at the earliest opportunity.

5. Recover and rebuild?

In the aftermath of a breach, the journey to normalcy begins. Organisations must gather together their resources to restore any capabilities or services impaired by the cybersecurity incident, leveraging lessons learned to emerge stronger and more resilient than before.

In an age where cyber threats are at large, a proactive approach to security is not just advisable—it's imperative. By embracing an IBM cyber resilience lifestyle, organisations can strengthen their defences against the looming spectre of BOOM events, with end-to-end solutions that efficiently prevent, detect, and respond to cyberattacks.

Don’t let your organisation be unprepared!

Message me to learn more about IBM Storage for cyber resilience, and keep your eyes peeled for my next blog where I delve into the IBM cyber resilient technology supporting organisations in a BOOM event and beyond.