In today’s world of “permacrisis,” where constant threats and disruptions loom, organizations must prioritize resilience. According to PwC’s Global Crisis and Resilience Survey, 96% of companies experienced disruptions in the past two years, with cyber risks emerging as a top concern. Cyber threats such as phishing, ransomware, cloud breaches, and third-party vulnerabilities are now commonplace, underscoring the need for seamless collaboration between cybersecurity and business continuity teams.
Technology is both an enabler and a potential source of disruption. To effectively plan for continuity, BC teams need an in-depth understanding of the organization’s technological landscape. A critical challenge here is the often-fragmented data between IT and BC teams; many organizations lack a complete, current, or accurate inventory of critical technology systems.
This gap presents an opportunity for stronger collaboration. By working together on a Business Impact Analysis (BIA), BC and IT teams can identify crucial systems and dependencies across the organization, making it easier to maintain an updated and accessible system inventory.
Key Questions for Effective Cyber-Resilience Integration
A proactive approach to managing disruptions involves answering the following:
- Are there any critical systems that IT might not be aware of?
Gaps in visibility can hinder timely responses to disruptions. - What is the established Service Level Agreement (SLA) with critical vendors and how does it impact business processes?
DR teams can infer RTOs and compare RPOs based on the provided SLA. Identifying gaps helps drive proactive recovery strategy planning before an incident occurs. - Who is responsible for vendor communication during outages?
There is a growing disconnect on who owns the vendor relationship. According to a recent security report, 50% of respondents said communication falls to the business owner, 34% shared ownership with IT, and 15% said ownership fell entirely to IT. Have the conversation now and not after a disruption has occurred.
When planning for cyber-attacks, close collaboration is key. IT teams often prioritize recovery based on user numbers, but this doesn’t always align with business-critical functions. By integrating BC and DR priorities, cybersecurity teams can help ensure that recovery efforts focus on what is truly essential for business continuity.
A well-defined incident response strategy is essential for minimizing the impact of cyber incidents and ensuring business continuity. Cybersecurity teams must coordinate closely with BC teams to create a unified response plan that aligns immediate crisis management actions with long-term recovery goals. This includes defining clear roles and responsibilities, ensuring decision-makers are equipped to respond quickly, and conducting simulations to prepare both teams for real-world incidents.
Having a clear, predefined communication strategy helps ensure consistent messaging both internally and externally. Cybersecurity and BC teams should establish a communication protocol that involves informing key stakeholders—such as employees, clients, partners, and regulators—during incidents.
In an era where attack vectors and attack surfaces are ever expanding, the integration of cybersecurity into business continuity and disaster recovery planning is essential for organizational resilience. Cyber incidents can have far-reaching consequences, impacting not only data and systems but also business operations and reputation. By fostering collaboration between cybersecurity and BC teams, organizations can build robust recovery plans that prioritize critical functions and minimize disruption.
