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In the 2019 Cost of Data Breach Report, we see the average cost of a data breach is $3.92 million. According to a Forbes Insights report, 46 percent of organizations who experienced a breach had suffered damage to their reputation and brand.

The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) is closely associated with the topic of cybersecurity and risk management. A rapidly increasing number of Industry 4.0 cybersecurity incidents are emerging, additionally stressing the need to strengthen cyber resilience. 

The need to improve the cybersecurity of Industry 4.0 is even more important since the potential impact of relevant threats ranges from compromising physical security, loss of intellectual property, production downtimes, to damaging equipment as well as subsequent financial and reputational losses. So, it’s even more important that an organization understands how to respond to an incident. 

And while cybersecurity and cyber resilience are two terms that can’t be used interchangeably, you should have plans in place and integrated to address both concepts.

According to Trend Micro, the manufacturing industry has seen more viruses spread through affected USB sticks; malicious CAD files, which hackers can install for industrial espionage or corporate IP theft; and human-machine interfaces, which account for almost a third of equipment exploits.

That’s why the careful implementation of secure and keen capabilities can produce an extremely hardened target that can be an effective deterrent to most attackers. It is important to note, however, that while organizations can and should decrease their risk to cyberattack, no organization is ever insusceptible. 

Being resilient to attacks begins with accepting the fact that it is not a matter of if, but a matter of when an organization will fall victim to an attack, and then methodically planning how they will respond.

According to Deloitte, there are three important phases to consider when addressing your company’s resilience: readiness, response, and recovery.

• Readiness. Back up your data regularly!  If you keep thorough and regular backups of your data on a separate network, you can simply restore your data allowing you a higher level of cyber resiliency. An organization should be well prepared to efficiently deal with all aspects of an incident. Clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and actions should be identified. Thoughtful preparation, using crisis simulations, incident walk-throughs, and wargaming exercises, can help an organization identify gaps and apply effective remediation steps before a real incident occurs.  The impact of testing your incident response plan would reduce the cost of the breach by $360,000.

• Response. Management’s response should be well planned and effectively communicated throughout an organization. A poorly executed response plan can escalate the impact of an incident and result in increased downtime, lost revenue, and damage to an organization’s reputation. These effects can last well beyond the actual incident.

• Recovery. The steps needed to return to normal operations and limit the damage to an organization should be well planned and practiced. Post-event analysis should include incorporating lessons learned into subsequent incident response plans.

A resilient organization should minimize the effects of an incident while quickly restoring operations and security. Preparing for an attack, understanding how to respond to the attack, and quickly remediating the effects of the attack should be completely addressed, thoughtfully planned, and fully exercised.

If you have questions about your cybersecurity or cyber resilience plan, contact us today. Our team can help you navigate the situation and offer the next best steps to keep you secure.