Cyber Resilience: Strengthening Your Company's Immune System

This time of year, it’s almost impossible to avoid people who are coughing, sniffling and spreading germs. Try as we might, it’s unrealistic to expect that we’ll never get sick. But we all know some steps we can take to give our immune system a fighting chance, like keeping hand sanitizer in the car or popping Vitamin C at the earliest sign of a scratchy throat. For most of us, the goal is to get back to everyday life, as fast as possible.

Cybersecurity is like your company’s immune system. In today’s day and age, cyberattacks, ransomware and phishing attempts are a fact of daily life. And new ones that leverage the latest AI capabilities are cropping up at an alarming rate. It’s unrealistic to think you’ll never fall victim to a cyber incident. But there are some steps you can take to start working toward cyber resilience — with the goal of getting back to business as usual, as fast as possible.

What is Cyber Resilience?

Traditional cybersecurity often emphasizes perimeter defense. That’s still important, but it’s just one piece of a much larger puzzle.

Today’s threat landscape requires a more proactive and strategic approach. Cyber resilience recognizes that security incidents are inevitable. But disruption to critical operations doesn’t have to be.

There are five key components to cyber resilience:

• Anticipation – Identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities by gathering intelligence and assessing risk.
• Prevention – Making successful attacks less likely by implementing security controls and best practices.
• Detection – Real-time monitoring for threats, anomalies and suspicious activity.
• Containment – Minimizing the impact of incidents by isolating threats and preventing further damage.
• Recovery – Restoring normal operations while incorporating lessons learned to strengthen future resilience.

Importantly, cyber resilience prepares organizations for a full spectrum of risks, including:

• External threats – State-sponsored attacks, ransomware and sophisticated cybercriminal tactics.
• Internal risks – Privileged access misuse, misconfigurations and human error.
• Operational disruptions – Supply chain failures, infrastructure outages and natural disasters.

But cyber resilience isn’t one-size-fits-all. An effective cyber resilience strategy must factor in business objectives and risk tolerance. It should be tailored to your threat landscape, regulatory environment and operational dependencies. And it should be reassessed and updated regularly as cyber threats and business environments evolve.

Why does cyber resilience matter?

Poor cyber resilience leads to significant consequences. According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach in the US is $9.36 million. And it’s not just large corporations that suffer. Some estimates suggest that after a cyberattack, 60% of small to medium-sized enterprises go out of business within six months. 

On the flip side, companies that prioritize cyber resilience may actually have a competitive advantage. One study found that more resilient companies generate 50% higher shareholder returns. This could be attributed to minimized downtime in the face of an incident. But it could also speak to minimized damage to reputation and consumer trust.

So how do you start moving toward cyber resilience?

1. Understand that cyber resilience requires a cultural shift within your organization, and it starts at the top. Without a clear cybersecurity strategy or executive support, efforts are often piecemeal or uncoordinated. Companies in this situation are playing “security whack-a-mole,” addressing parts of the immune system puzzle as they pop up, rather than looking at the big picture. It’s like keeping hand sanitizer in your car while you’re still smoking two packs a day.
2. Assess your security posture in each of the five areas outlined above. Understand the greatest risks for your organization and where to focus your efforts. You might have a solid EDR solution. Meanwhile, you haven't updated downtime procedures for frontline staff since 2020. Regular, high-quality penetration tests and tabletop exercises can help uncover blind spots.
3. Create your roadmap to increasing resilience. Once you’ve addressed any major gaps, you can start building short and long-term goals. Most cyber resilience plans happen in phases and take several years to fully implement, so don’t get discouraged if you have a lot of work to do. Determine how you’ll measure progress and set reasonable benchmarks along the way.
4. Know that resilience isn’t a fixed endpoint. Threats will continue to evolve, and threat actors will continue to find new ways to breach your systems. The geopolitical landscape will continue to evolve, as will economic and environmental threats. And your business will continue to evolve, with new challenges and new opportunities. It’s important to build a plan that can grow and change over time, and that you’re reviewing and updating it on a regular basis.

Key Takeaway

Cyber resilience is not just about cybersecurity — it’s a core pillar of enterprise resilience. Making it a priority will not only strengthen your ability to anticipate, withstand and recover from cyber threats. It will also minimize risk, reduce operational disruption and protect long-term business continuity.

Let’s Build Resilience Together

A strong cyber resilience strategy requires the right expertise, planning and execution. You don’t have to navigate it alone. Contact us today to discuss your company’s security needs and explore how we can help you build a more resilient and secure future.

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