In an ever-changing digital environment, cyber crisis management has become an imperative for companies concerned with protecting their digital assets and reputation. Faced with growing threats such as ransomware attacks, data breaches and sophisticated cyberattacks, it's essential that companies prepare to respond quickly and effectively in the event of a cyber incident. Cyber crisis management exercises play a crucial role in this preparation, enabling crisis management teams to test their response capabilities, identify gaps in processes and protocols, and build corporate resilience to digital threats. Against this backdrop, this article will explore the key steps in carrying out an effective cyber crisis management exercise, providing companies with the tools they need to prepare for tomorrow's IT security challenges.
What is a Cyber Crisis Management Exercise?
Faced with an ever-increasing number of IT threats, organizations - be they companies, institutions, associations, local authorities, higher education establishments, research institutes or healthcare establishments - need to be prepared to deal with crises of cyber origin. These crises occur when malicious actions on the information system lead to major destabilization of the entity, causing varied and significant impacts, sometimes irreversible.
Against this backdrop, the Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information (ANSSI) and the Club de la continuité d'activité (CCA) have collaborated to produce a guide entitled "Organizing a cyber crisis management exercise". Aimed at all organizations, whether private or public, of all sizes and in all sectors of activity, this guide aims to facilitate the realistic implementation of cyber crisis management exercises. The aim is to enable mobilized teams to train themselves in a formative way, in order to apply best practices both internally and externally.
Phishia offers cyber crisis management exercises, based on the work of the ANSSI. Exercise scenarios are tailored to your business to enhance the realism of the exercises. have no impact on your business. Exercises are adapted to your employees' skill levels.
These exercises enable you to communicate both internally and externally about your involvement in the event of a cyber attack.
Exercise organization
The aim of the exercise is in no way to trick participants, but rather to help them understand a crisis of cyber origin.
High-level profiles should be involved, as well as a cyber decision-maker or a person in charge of IS; and more generally, all the people who would be mobilized if the event played out during the exercise were to take place in reality.
The team assembled during the exercise will be observed on the following points:
- Reactivity :
- Detection: Assessment of how quickly the team detects the incident or threat.
- Alert: Evaluation of the speed with which the team issues an internal alert.
- Technical skills :
- Analysis: Ability to quickly analyze the nature and scale of the threat.
- Classification: Precise identification of the type of incident (malware, DDoS attack, data compromise, etc.).
- Internal communication:
- Evaluation of the clarity and speed of communications within the team.
- External communication :
- Assessment of communications management with external stakeholders (customers, partners, authorities, media).
- Collaboration within the cell :
- Coordination between cell members.
- Leadership
- Business continuity :
- Business continuity plan (BCP): Assessment of the quality of the business continuity plan, including the definition of roles and responsibilities.
- BCP implementation: Effectiveness of the implementation of continuity measures to ensure minimum operation of critical activities.
We recommend devoting half a day to a full day to the exercise.
What is the RM EBIOS method?
In France, cyber crisis management exercises is supported by organizations such asANSSI (Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information) and ANS (Agence du Numérique en Santé). These exercises are tailored to the specific needs of different business sectors, from healthcare, local authorities and businesses. They aim to identify vulnerabilities, strengthen defenses and improve resilience in the face of cyber threats.
In the healthcare sector, for example, exercises focus on protecting sensitive data and guaranteeing continuity of care in the event of a cyber attack. For local authorities, they can focus on critical infrastructure protection and incident response. As for companies, exercises cover a range of scenarios, from protecting trade secrets to managing security incidents.
In short, whatever your sector of activity, ANSSI and ANS have developed cyber crisis management exercises to help you strengthen your security posture. These exercises are invaluable tools for preparing and responding effectively to rapidly evolving digital threats.
How can I get support during this process?
To support you in the process of carrying out cyber crisis management exercises, you might consider calling on specialist IT security consultants such as Phishia. These experts can help you design and implement exercises tailored to your specific needs, taking into account the threats relevant to your business and your security objectives.
Phishia offers in-depth expertise in cyber crisis management, as well as customized consulting services to strengthen your company's preparedness against cyber threats. Their consultants can guide you through the entire process, from planning and designing exercises to evaluating performance and identifying measures for improvement.
By working with Phishia, you benefit from the experience and know-how of a team specialized in IT security, enabling you to strengthen your security posture and better prepare yourself to face cyber challenges. Don't hesitate to contact them for personalized advice and solutions tailored to your specific cyber crisis management needs.
