Graeme Orsborn, Vice President SaaS International, Everbridge discusses the importance of a comprehensive approach to digital operations.

In an era where the digital landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, the prevalence of cyber threats has become an unavoidable reality for organisations across the globe.

From Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks to sophisticated malware, the challenges organisations face in safeguarding their digital operations are multifaceted.  

The impact of cyberattacks extends far beyond mere disruptions, often resulting in significant financial losses and operational downtime.

The Lloyd’s Bank estimated that cyber-attacks on financial payments systems can reach up to 3.5 trillion loss over a five years period.

Thus, to avoid those losses, as cybercriminals continually refine their techniques, organisations find themselves in a perpetual race to fortify their defenses and build up their resiliency. 

How can organisations develop a resilient strategy that will minimise their losses caused by a cyber-attack? 

1. Learning to navigate the cybersecurity landscape: Organisations implementing state-of-the-art security measures are not immune to the ever-evolving tactics of cyber adversaries. The need for a comprehensive solution that not only addresses incidents but also enhances overall cyber resilience has never been more critical. This article explores a transformative approach to cybersecurity without directly referencing specific products or companies, focusing on the principles and methodologies that drive cyber resilience. 

2. Understand the dynamic threat landscape: Cyber threats are dynamic, presenting an ever-changing landscape that demands agility and resilience from organisations. Traditional security measures, while essential, often fall short in responding to the sophistication of modern cyberattacks. The rise of DDoS attacks, malware, and ransomware underscores the need for a paradigm shift in how organizations approach cybersecurity.  

3. Develop a guided and automated resolution: In the face of digital service disruptions caused by cyberattacks, a transformative solution emerges — one that goes beyond incident response to optimise resolution and swiftly restore operations. This approach provides guided and automated resolution steps, leveraging a fusion of automation, analytics, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms. 

4. Empower NOC and SOC teams: Network Operations Center (NOC) and Security Operations Center (SOC) teams play a pivotal role in mitigating cyber threats. The transformative solution integrates contextual information into these teams’ workflows, providing them with the insights needed to pinpoint problems and focus resolution efforts. This ensures a targeted response that minimises the impact of cyber incidents. 

5. Enhance cyber resilience: At its core, the transformative solution empowers organisations to build cyber resilience into their operational fabric. Low-code and no-code automations ensure that security processes seamlessly run through every stage, from event awareness to service restoration. Rapid incident response capabilities filter and prioritize incidents, notifying on-call resources through automated escalations. 

Technological platforms are at the core of this enhanced digital strategy. They provide: 

Actionable intelligence and out-of-the-box integrations: The solution’s emphasis on actionable intelligence is crucial in responding effectively to cyber incidents. Out-of-the-box integrations provide source data updates and contextual alerts, enabling real-time decision-making.

This not only streamlines the incident response process but also contributes to continuous improvement by learning from each incident. 

Service intelligence for swift mitigation: Visualising impacted digital services and infrastructure is instrumental in swift issue mitigation.

The solution provides the ability to visualise digital services, understand contextual data, identify probable root causes and automate processes for rapid issue mitigation and immediate service restoration. 

DigitalOps insights: Incident Commanders benefit from AI-powered DigitalOps insights, offering powerful situational awareness.

These insights minimise duplicate work and provide actionable suggestions, such as appropriate Subject Matter Expert (SME) engagement, mitigation steps, and potential service impacts.

This ensures a more informed and efficient response to cyber incidents. 

Through the application of the most cutting-hedge technological platforms, real transformative solutions, enterprises will be battling cyber threats by: 

Closing the technical and business gap: One of the critical challenges in cybersecurity is bridging the gap between technical and business aspects.

The transformative solution addresses this by automating critical event requests and employing procedural frameworks across the organisation.

This ensures that everyone is aligned with standardised processes, enhancing the overall effectiveness of cybersecurity efforts. 

Reducing operational pain: A key element in a transformative solution is its focus on reducing operational pain associated with cybersecurity incidents.

By streamlining on-call management, eliminating redundant efforts, and providing contextual one-click responses, the solution minimises the manual burden on cybersecurity teams.

For example, redundancy with diversity achieved a saving of up to around 50 percent in expected attack costs relative to no redundancy.

A more streamlined approach will result in a more efficient and effective response to incidents. 

Extending the value of existing applications: A transformative solution distinguishes itself by extending the value of existing applications.

Its workflow automation capabilities empower organisations without the need for extensive coding or the limitations associated with legacy software implementations.

This approach ensures a cost-effective and scalable solution that aligns with the dynamic nature of cybersecurity. 

The transformative approach to cybersecurity outlined in this article emphasises the principles and methodologies that empower organisations to navigate the evolving threat landscape with confidence and agility. 

By focusing on guided and automated resolution, empowering NOC and SOC teams, building cyber resilience, and addressing the technical-business gap, this approach ensures that organisations can effectively respond to cyber incidents while also proactively enhancing their overall cybersecurity posture.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, adopting a transformative mindset becomes imperative for organisations seeking to secure their digital operations against the ever-growing tide of cyber threats. 

About the author 

Graeme Orsborn brings with him over 15 years of experience within the communications, cyber security, governance, risk and compliance (GRC) industries.

He has a demonstrable track record of success across multiple industries across the globe.

For instance, he started Everbridge’s Asia Pacific business from scratch, developing multiple markets within the region.

Graeme is responsible for International Sales at Everbridge. 

In his role, Graeme work out Everbridge’s go-to market and interfaces with Everbridge’s existing client base and prospects.

In addition, he channels partners and new clients to drive awareness of CEM and the value it brings to people, protection, and business operations in alignment with the organisation’s enterprise transition, driving higher value for both clients and shareholders.  

Graeme speaks frequently to professional and educational groups; he also works closely with industry groups in an advisory position and has an interest in digital transformation, big data, and AI technology. 

This article was originally published in the April Edition of Security Journal United Kingdom. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.