Do You Have a Proactive Incident Response Plan in Place?

Is your Ottawa corporation prepared for a cyberattack that could tear down your organization’s infrastructure? Your incident response plan may be what saves your business.

People-based cybercrime such as phishing and social engineering attacks are costing Canadian businesses an average of US$9.25 million, according to a recent study by the Ponemon Institute. This stunning figure continues to rise, while organizations of all sizes are left wondering what they can do to reduce the risk of this type of devastation. It only takes a moment and a single poor decision by a staff member or contractor to provide a resourceful hacker with access to prime digital real estate within your business. You can be confident that cybercriminals will take full advantage of any customer information, patient details or other private tidbits that they can find within your business systems. What’s terrifying is that even the most aggressive cybersecurity structures cannot block every attack, particularly due to the human element involved in this type of breach. Instead, companies must rely on having the right incident response plans in place that allow your company to be resilient in its response to an attack.

Low Risk, High Rewards

One of the reasons for the massive rise of cybercrime is due to the low risk, high rewards that these hackers can enjoy. According to recent reports, “Cybercrime remains far too easy since many technology users fail to take the most basic protective measures, and many technology products lack adequate defenses, while cybercriminals use both simple and advanced technology to identify targets, automate software creation and delivery, and monetization of what they steal.” Smart cybercriminals can reasonably expect to make millions of dollars with very little risk of being caught or going to jail. Untraceable funds and easily faked credentials allow these hackers to continue their activities for the long term, expanding their network and attacks over time.

Creating a Proactive Incident Response Plan

An incident response plan allows your technology and operations teams to leap into action at the first sign of an attack, often reducing the length or visibility of any incursion while also allowing you to return to full operations more quickly. Incident response plans dictate how to detect, respond to and ultimately recover from a cyberattack while limiting impact to customers, internal staff and the reputation of your business. Key components of an incident response plan could include:

Detailed playbooks for responding to specific threat types

Communication strategies for various audiences: customers, vendors, employees and leadership

Definitions of any compliance requirements, including mandatory incident reporting

Roles and responsibilities for core teams to ensure everyone stays on track

Creating this incident response plan should not be a “one and done” solution. Instead, organizations should regularly review their strategies to ensure they stay fresh and are updated as new threats and solutions evolve.

When you need exceptional cybersecurity readiness support in the Ottawa or Kingston areas and throughout Eastern Ontario, contact the professionals at Fuelled Networks at 613-828-1280. Our exceptional attention to detail and focus on our clients has made us the #1 IT services and support company in the Ottawa region. Whether you need secondary support for internal IT staff or are ready to completely outsource your technology functions, our team of dedicated professionals is ready to ensure that your business is firing on all cylinders. Reach us via email to info@fuellednetworks.com or fill out our quick online form to schedule your free initial consultation.