Cyber Security VS Cyber Resilience

We all understand what cyber security is, however, fewer people recognise the difference between cyber security and cyber resilience, and why resilience is a significant component in a security strategy.

Many companies have been the victim of cyber-attacks, and while large-scale businesses can afford the aftermath of such attacks, for many it can be extremely damaging. Research by CyberArk suggest that 52% of business leaders wouldn’t know what steps to take in the event of a cyber security attack. Their alarming frequency is the core reason businesses need to be prepared.

What is the difference between Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience?

Cutting a long story short, cyber security is about defence; protecting your business and keeping attackers out. Whereas cyber resilience focuses on response; what planned actions you can take in the event of a breach.

The idea around cyber security is to take the appropriate procedures to prevent hackers and malware from entering your IT systems and causing havoc. While these measures are an essential part of any business, prevention is never guaranteed. Businesses should quickly face the reality that they will be targeted, which is where cyber resilience comes into action.

Cyber resilience works on the mindset of ‘not if, but when’ and covers the processes an organisation can take to respond and recover from cyber-attacks. If a business has cyber resilience in play, they are able to adequately protect themselves and limit the consequences of a cyber event.

The importance of Cyber Resilience

Hackers are becoming increasingly smarter and more creative with their attacks. It is unrealistic to assume that they won’t eventually reach your network. It is imperative that the correct measures are taken to prevent post effects to:

Reduce financial loss

The financial impact of an attack can be considerable, as businesses can be hit by several expensive blows including;

• Theft of information and data
• Ransoms
• Theft of money
• Disruption to operations
• Loss of business
• Fines
• Remediation costs

For example, EasyJet was issued an £183m fine via the ICO regarding 9 million customer’s data being accessed.

Protect your reputation

If your operational systems being disrupted isn’t enough, some criminals are now intensifying the pressure by threatening to broadcast the breach to the media if their terms aren’t met.

Damage done to your business’s reputation is hard to control and can be long lasting. The news stories will live on online forever, easily searchable and able to be dragged up every time your brand is mentioned. You’ll face closer scrutiny from regulators, lose the trust of existing customers and drive away new business. 70% of consumers saying that they would look elsewhere if a business suffers a data breach.

Safeguard customer relationships

Trust is hard to win, and easy to lose. Educating your current and future customers of your defences and continuous improvements can give you the upper hand against competitors.

Staying compliant

Cyber security isn’t just an IT issue, it’s also a regulatory one. Understandably, governance rules are becoming more complicated, more demanding. Being cyber resilient also includes the ability to quickly adapt to changing requirements.

Stages of Cyber Resilience

Shifting from cyber security to a cyber resilience focus means thinking differently about how you design and build a strong security structure. Here’s where to begin:

1. Threat monitoring and protection

Every business requires protection against attacks, which are growing in both number and sophistication.

Humans are considered one of the weakest links, succumbing to phishing attempts and letting in malware. Analysis from CybSafe stated that 90% of cyber breaches are due to user error. Investing in security awareness training has an important part to play in preventing cyber breaches.

Most businesses employee some variation of anti-virus for protection, but their potency has been declining over the years. A much better solution is to use Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), an advanced technology that doesn’t only detect threats but also contains, investigates and eradicates them.

2. Risk Management

 Identify and prioritise areas of weakness by conducting regular strategic risk assessment. Thorough assessments will identify what areas of your infrastructure pose the greatest security risk, prioritise the order of remediation and outline corrective steps.

With a better understanding of your vulnerabilities, your business will become much better at evolving and adapting to the changing threat landscape.

3. Response

Once a security incident has been detected, you’ll need a quick, expert response. A well-prepared incident response team will investigate, contain and remediate the breach.

4. Recoverability

Cyber attack consequences, such as the loss of business-critical data and files, are too common. Having recoverability options and a strong disaster recovery plan in place means your business can resume normal operations quickly and efficiently.

A successful strategy is more than just your IT team, it involves your whole business and all departments to ensure everyone understands how their contribution can help protect your business.

Looking to invest in an effective strategy which can strengthen the endurance of your business? Our team of security experts are here to help.