Cyber Security: How to Avoid a Rude Awakening

Political events over the past few years have caused a lot of people to wake up with a start – there’s nothing like a bit of national outcry to shake you out of your slumber. That moment of trying to come to terms with what happened while you were sleeping is all too familiar to CISOs whose organisations have been hit by a cyber incident – can you imagine starting your day with the news that your customer data has been compromised? For many people with responsibility for IT security, the worry of waking up to their CEO (or worse, Twitter) telling them that something has gone seriously wrong stops them from getting a good night’s sleep. But it doesn’t have to be this way. As a result, we’ve had a number of conversations with people who are keen to understand how they might rehearse a cyber incident and the associated processes.

Turning a nightmare scenario into a dream process

Based on this feedback, we’ve partnered with IBM to offer a live simulation that enables CISOs to experience how it feels when a board meeting is interrupted with news of a cyber incident. From there they’ll work as part of a team with peers from other organisations to test their response skills.Throughout the simulation, security leads from SCC and IBM will be throwing in new bits of information, providing live status updates and recreating the sense of urgency that comes during a real incident. It might not be comfortable, but it will be a way in which to test thinking, challenge misconceptions and demonstrate how well-defined processes give you the chance to turn a nightmare scenario into a dream outcome.

Starting and ending on a positive note

Whilst we will be taking people outside of their comfort zones, we won’t be throwing everyone in at the deep end as soon as they arrive, and we won’t be sending them back to work with stunned looks on their faces. We’ve designed the main event to be carefully bookended by two sessions that will address key issues in a roundtable format.We’ll begin with a talk from James Frampton, Head of IT Risk & Control, MUFG Securities EMEA who will offer his advice on gaining board-level backing and budget for cyber security initiatives. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear his perspectives on new and emerging threats and benefit from his experiences in being responsible for IT security at one of the world’s leading financial groups.Once the cyber incident simulation has ended, and after a quick debrief, SCC and IBM will share their insights on how to address the common issues that CISOs face in responding to cyber crime including:

• Lack of resource
• Increased insider threat
• Bringing together disparate security tools to create a real-time view

Event details and registration

The event will take place at the Rigby HQ in Mayfair on Thursday 29th November between 8:00am and 10:45am. In the spirit of waking up well, we’ll be welcoming delegates with a light breakfast from 7:30am.This event is suitable for senior IT security leaders and places are strictly limited to 15 people. To apply for your place at the only board table that’s designed to make sure you don’t get a rude awakening when it comes to cyber security, visit: www.scc.com/security-event-registration/ —————————————————————————————————————————— ‘Cyber Security – How to Avoid a Rude Awakening’ is the sixth in a series of articles designed to encourage debate and action in organisations who want to take a positive approach to cyber security. Our recommendations are based on the experiences of our customers, the knowledge of our cyber security team and analyst insights. To discuss any aspect of this article, please comment below and we’ll get in touch, or contact our Security Solutions Architect, Iain Marsh, at [email protected].