Cyber Resilience: What is It? 

In the world we live now, not only do we (humans) need to learn how to be resilient, confront and recover from adversity, but we also need to make our businesses and organizations, especially in terms of security,  able to fight tough battles while continuing their operation.  

Business leaders and cybersecurity professionals need to understand that security does not accept an all-or-nothing approach. You can’t expect that your security controls will protect you from every hacker who attempts to break into your network. Nor can you operate without having certain security protocols or letting anyone with a username and password have access to every piece of information.  

Any organization, big or small, is constantly at risk of becoming a  victim of a cyber-attack. Our job, as cybersecurity professionals, is to build a security strategy and enable security protocols to guarantee business continuity, as well as the security of their assets.  

What is Cyber Resilience? 

Cyber resilience can be defined as the ability an organization has to enable business continuity while preparing for, responding to, and recovering from cyber threats.  

As cybersecurity professionals, we need to accept that there is always a chance of hackers passing through your security controls. Even if you follow all the best practices, and enable every possible security protocol, hackers can and will pass them because that is their job. Ours is to detect that breach in time, protect our assets from it, and revert any possible damage.  

Being a cyber-resilient organization is being ready to act in case cybersecurity measures fail (antivirus, anti-malware, VPN, firewalls) or when systems are disrupted (either because of human error, power outages, natural disasters). It is knowing what could go wrong, how to act if it happens, who is involved, and where everything that you need to take care of is.  

What are the Benefits of Being a Cyber Resilient Organization? 

We live in a world that is constantly evolving. Cybersecurity is not the exception. The best path to business continuity is having an approach to cybersecurity that is flexible, that adapts to change, and takes into account every possible scenario.  

Being a cyber-resilient organization means:  

1. You will have a better security posture and the ability to identify, filter, and respond to risks. Which, over time, will turn into fewer security incidents or breaches.  
2. It will be easier to comply with regulatory and legal requirements to collect and protect third–party data.  
3. There will be protocols and restrictions on data access to guarantee the security of your assets.  
4. To have a back-up plan to keep your business running in case of cyber-attacks or any other technological interruption.