The Best Offence Is A Great Defence: Prioritizing Cyber-Preparedness

Cybersecurity incidents are becoming increasingly common and disruptive. In the Blakes 2022 Cyber Trends Study, we identified that ransomware attacks continue to be highly prevalent, representing over half of the observed incidents in 2021. Further, ransom payments continue to rise, with payments over US$100,000 becoming increasingly common and many payments exceeding US$1-million. In nearly half of all cybersecurity incidents we surveyed, the attacker was able to exfiltrate data.

Cybersecurity incidents can result in many kinds of losses, including reputational loss, financial loss and regulatory and litigation risk, among others. To help avoid these costs, organizations should proactively take steps to prepare for an incident. They should also ask important questions about cybersecurity practices and policies, and identify their risk profile and create a plan to treat those risks.