Cyber resilience: keys, concept and importance for businesses

Cyber resilience has become an essential element for businesses in today’s world. In an increasingly interconnected digital world, organizations must be able not only to prevent cyber attacks, but also to recover quickly from them.

The implementation of effective cyber resilience strategies allows companies to maintain their operations in the face of incidents of this nature, ensuring their continuity and data protection.

Given the increase in threats, adopting and implementing cyber resilience strategies is essential for organizations.

This article explores what cyber resilience is, its importance, the differences with cybersecurity, and how your company can establish a robust approach to address today’s threats.

What is cyber resilience?

Cyber resilience refers to a company’s ability to anticipate, cope with, overcome and adjust to cyber attacks. This encompasses not only the defense of its systems and data, but also the ability to restore its functions efficiently.

In this sense, cyber resilience seeks to ensure the continuity of operations, even in adverse scenarios. It is considered a strategic framework that complements cybersecurity, providing a more holistic view of the protection of digital assets.

As such, cyber resilience takes on an important role in modern cyber risk management. According to the website Gartner.com, more than 50% of companies have experienced disruptions due to cyber incidents, underscoring the need for a proactive approach.

Cyber resilience vs. cyber resilience

It is important to clarify the differences between cyber resilience and cyber-resilience. Although both terms are often used interchangeably, they have different nuances.

Cyber resilience refers more to an overall approach that encompasses prevention, response and recovery; whereas cyber resilience often focuses on the ability of systems and digital infrastructures to withstand attacks and take swift action to mitigate damage.

These notions, although close, have different implications in the context of digital security.

Today, it is an essential requirement to have integrated cyber protection in all areas of your business. If you need help, do not hesitate to contact us. At SupraBT we are here to support you.

Why is cyber resilience important?

The development of cyber resilience has become an indispensable priority for modern organizations.

In a digital environment full of risks, their role is essential to ensure the stability and success of any company.

Impact on modern organizations

Organizations that implement cyber resilience strategies are better equipped to handle adversity.

This capability proactively addresses IT threats, minimizing downtime and optimizing internal operations.

When a company is prepared, its employees can concentrate on their work without worrying about potential risks that could disrupt their daily activities.

Competitive advantage in the market

Cyber resilience represents an added value that gives organizations the ability to stand out from their rivals.

Companies that are able to demonstrate a high level of preparedness and responsiveness are more likely to gain the trust of their customers.

This type of trust is essential for establishing long-term business relationships and maintaining consumer loyalty.

Financial and reputational protection

Cyber resilience not only seeks to protect day-to-day operations, but also to safeguard the financial value of the company.

The consequences of a cyber-attack can be extremely damaging, affecting both the finances and reputation of an organization.

Organizations that prioritize their cyber resilience can avoid significant losses and keep their reputation intact with their customers.

Essential component to comply with regulations and standards

Finally, cyber resilience is an essential component of compliance with regulations and standards, such as ISO/IEC 27001.

These standards require companies to adopt robust security mechanisms to safeguard sensitive data.

Real cases of companies affected by cyber-attacks

Over the past few years, several companies have been severely affected by cyberattacks, and the lack of cyber resilience has increased their vulnerability and the impact of incidents. The lack of cyber resilience has increased their vulnerability and the impact of incidents.

Some notable examples include:

• Acer suffered a ransomware attack in which cybercriminals demanded $50 million to release encrypted files. The vulnerability was due to a bug in Microsoft Exchange, which allowed access to banking communications and sensitive data, evidencing weak preparedness to respond and recover from the attack.
• Campari fell victim to the Ragnar Locker ransomware, which crippled its IT infrastructure and allowed the theft of employees’ personal data and supplier contracts. The downtime of its systems demonstrated the lack of effective continuity and incident recovery plans.
• Coppel, a major retail chain in Mexico, faced a cyber-attack in 2024 that paralyzed its operations for three months and generated losses of close to US$15 million. The prolonged downtime was evidence of the absence of robust resilience and rapid response protocols.

These cases reflect how a lack of cyber resilience exposes companies to greater financial loss, reputational damage and difficulties in restoring their operations.

Differences between cyber resilience and cybersecurity

Understand the distinction between cyber resilience and cybersecurity is essential. Cybersecurity focuses solely on safeguarding data and systems, while cyber resilience involves a comprehensive approach that also includes incident recovery and resilience.

Cybersecurity can be considered as one of the components that feed cyber resilience. A good cyber resilience strategy depends on a robust cybersecurity infrastructure that protects digital assets and ensures their integrity.

Another important difference is that cyber resilience involves a continuous assessment of risks and the ability to respond to new challenges. This implies that organizations need to keep themselves in a continuous process of learning and adjustment.

Integration of both strategies

Both cybersecurity and cyber resilience are complementary components and should be incorporated together within a robust protection strategy.

Strong cybersecurity helps boost cyber resilience by minimizing the likelihood of critical incidents. In turn, strong cyber resilience can compensate for cybersecurity failures, ensuring fast and effective recovery.

Key components of cyber-resilience

Key components of cyber resilience include:

1. Prevention: involves taking early action to identify and stop threats before they materialize. This includes the use of firewalls, antivirus, constant software updates, regular risk assessments and staff training to minimize human error and technical vulnerabilities.
2. Detection: refers to the ability to quickly identify a cyber-attack through continuous monitoring of systems, the use of behavioral analysis tools, anomaly detection and automatic alerts.
3. Response: involves activating immediate strategies upon detection of a threat, such as incident containment, malware removal, quarantine of affected devices, and appropriate internal and external communication.
4. Recovery: focuses on restoring affected systems and operations after an incident. This includes recovering data from backups, reinstalling systems, applying patches and resuming critical services to minimize downtime and return to normal as quickly as possible.
5. Adaptation: consists of learning from the incidents suffered in order to reinforce and adjust security measures. After each attack, the causes are analyzed, procedures are reviewed and plans and technologies are updated, ensuring continuous improvement against future threats.

Integrating these components into a cyber resilience strategy enables companies to take a holistic approach that improves responsiveness and minimizes operational disruptions.

Main threats that justify the need for cyber resilience

Today’s digital environment poses multiple challenges that organizations must overcome to safeguard their resources and ensure business continuity.

Most common cybersecurity incidents

Cybercriminals employ sophisticated tactics to exploit vulnerabilities in corporate systems. Among the most frequent incidents are:

• Ransomware: this type of malware encrypts files and demands a ransom for their recovery. It can completely paralyze an organization’s operations, which is why it is critical to protect your SMB from ransomware attacks.
• Malware: any software designed to cause damage or infiltrate systems.
• Phishing and social engineering: these strategies manipulate people into divulging personal data or access credentials, usually through forged e-mails. It is very important that companies train their employees to learn how to avoid phishing and social engineering. how to avoid phishing.
• Data breaches: leaks or theft of sensitive information affect the trust, reputation and legal stability of organizations. Given the inevitability of these incidents, cyber resilience is key to contain the leak, mitigate damage and restore security and normal operations as soon as possible.

Human errors and their impact

On many occasions, an organization’s ability to deal with cyber incidents is affected by the unintentional actions of its personnel. These mistakes can include:

• Misconfiguration of security measures.
• Lack of training of personnel in cybersecurity aspects.
• Reckless downloading or opening of files from unverified sources that may compromise the protection of a network.

Emerging threats in the digital environment

The threat landscape is continually evolving. New tactics and attack methods are emerging regularly and rapidly. Some of the emerging threats include:

• Targeted malware: increasingly specific malware is being developed, targeting specific sectors such as finance or healthcare.
• Supply chain attacks: cybercriminals seek to breach suppliers to gain access to the networks of the companies they supply.
• Artificial intelligence in cyberattacks: the use of advanced algorithms by attackers is making attacks more difficult to predict and prevent.

How to implement an effective cyber resilience strategy?

Implementing an effective cyber resilience strategy requires a strategic approach that takes several steps to achieve robust protection against potential cyber incidents.

1. Risk analysis: identifying critical vulnerabilities

Conduct a complete inventory of assets, access, systems and data to identify the most vulnerable points and their potential failures.

Analyze and evaluate the possibility and consequences of each risk, taking into account both internal and external elements. This analysis allows prioritizing risks and designing effective mitigation measures.

2. Staff training and awareness

Implement ongoing computer security training programs for all employees.

Foster a culture where everyone takes responsibility and there is transparent communication about risks and best practices.

Trained personnel are the first line of defense against incidents and human error.

3. Key technologies for cyber-resilience

• Robust backups: Establishing automated backup systems, preferably with cloud solutions and disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS), helps ensure rapid restoration of data and systems after an incident.
• Advanced anti-malware solutions: using up-to-date software and advanced threat detection systems makes it easier to identify and block attacks immediately.
• Continuous monitoring: implementing permanent surveillance of networks and systems to detect anomalies enables an immediate response to any sign of attack.
• Automation: Leveraging automated incident response systems and network segmentation makes it possible to reduce the margin of error and accelerate threat containment.

4. Development of a Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

Develop and update a plan that defines how the organization will maintain its operations in the face of disruptive incidents.

This plan should include backup procedures, clear roles and responsibilities, as well as specific actions to restore critical services in the shortest possible time.

5. Importance of periodic simulation exercises(table-top exercises)

Conducting regular cyber incident drills to test the team’s response capability, identify gaps in procedures and improve internal coordination is critical.

These exercises allow to adjust and strengthen the cyber resilience plan before facing a real situation.

References:

Acronis (December 2, 2022). Cyber resilience versus cybersecurity. Retrieved from: https://www.acronis.com/es-mx/blog/posts/cyber-resilience-vs-cybersecurity/

Cisco (n.d.). Cyber Resilience. Retrieved from: https://blogs.cisco.com/tag/cyber-resilience?dtid=osscdc000283

Cisco (n.d.). What Is Cyber Resilience? Retrieved from: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/learn/topics/security/what-is-cyber-resilience.html

CirculoTNE.com (June 26, 2024). SUCCESS STORIES: HOW REAL COMPANIES OVERCAME CYBERATTACKS AND TECHNOLOGICAL DISASTERS. Retrieved from: https://circulotne.com/empresas-que-han-superado-ciberataques-con-exito-revista-tne.html

Gartner (March 18, 2024). Gartner Unveils Top Eight Cybersecurity Predictions for 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-03-18-gartner-unveils-top-eight-cybersecurity-predictions-for-2024#

HelpRansomware (April 1, 2022). 10 Large Enterprises Affected by Ransomware. Retrieved from: https://helpransomware.com/es/empresas-afectadas-por-ransomware/

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development (n.d.). Cyber resilience. Retrieved from: https://www.hpe.com/mx/es/what-is/cyber-resilience.html

21st Century University (March 16, 2023). The role of cyber resilience in cybersecurity. Retrieved from: https://21.edu.ar/noticias/el-rol-de-la-resiliencia-cibernetica-en-la-ciberseguridad/

WeLiveSecurity (December 12, 2024). 7 cybersecurity incidents that marked 2024 in Latin America. Retrieved from: https://www.welivesecurity.com/es/cibercrimen/incidentes-ciberseguridad-2024-america-latina/

World Economic Forum (January 17, 2024). 4 ways to increase cyber resilience in the face of increasingly diverse threats. Retrieved from: https://es.weforum.org/stories/2024/01/4-formas-de-aumentar-la-ciberresiliencia-frente-a-amenazas-cada-vez-mas-diversas/