Earlier this week I had the opportunity to attend a particularly interesting meeting of a national cybersecurity organization that I am a member of. The organization is called Infraguard and is one of the most comprehensive and serious ongoing cybersecurity functions I know of. It is a partnership between private businesses and the FBI nationally and they meet locally.
What made this one very interesting as it was not just about technology but about a crisis and how to prepare for a crisis and manage it properly. The FBI agents used examples from actual mass shootings we have all heard of and they have been involved with. Particularly in my community, the Pulse Nightclub Shooting. Which many of these agents were directly involved with. It was an eye-opening experience and I was amazed at how close to my own perception of cybersecurity and how these lessons can be applied to our business in managing a crisis.
Taking Action
I have talked extensively about taking action here. And here. But the agents brought this into very clear perspective. There was a quote one used that referred to jumping out of an airplane for an aerial assault. He said, “when you jump out of a plane you have the rest of your life to get that parachute open.” This was such a good way to put our own cybersecurity challenges.
Did you prepare for the crisis situation? Do you have a plan in place to deal with it when it comes? Are you going to be able to pull that ripcord and know that chute will open? These are critical questions. And you do not want to be asking or answering them when its time to jump out of that plane.
How Much Time do you Have?
How much time do you have to pull that cord? How prepared is your chute? Do you have a plan in place? Have you done a cybersecurity audit in the last 6 months or a year? Do you have a plan for dealing with the media? I can assure you if you go through a major breach you will feel just like you are jumping out of that plane. You won’t die but you will have the same feelings.
So, take the time now to put in place your cybersecurity posture and your plan for preventing an attack. And if you do have one what you will do about it. Because the last place you want to be testing your cybersecurity strategy is after the attack begins. Start work today and take action.