The Untapped Value of Tabletop Exercises

Do you know if your business is prepared to challenge cyber threats? There are several ways to find out without enduring a real-world incursion into your digital ecosystem. One of the most effective tactics involves using tabletop exercises. These scenarios simulate real-world incidents, allowing your team to practice responses and test their mettle.

What are Tabletop Exercises?

A tabletop exercise is a simulated scenario used to test and improve aspects of your company’s digital preparedness and cybersecurity strategy. You can simulate everything from a natural disaster-induced outage to a full-fledged malware attack. The goal is to evaluate your level of preparedness and identify opportunities for improvement.

You can conduct a tabletop exercise with just your team. Alternatively, you can involve outside stakeholders like your IT consulting firm and managed services provider (MSP).

Here’s a closer look at what these exercises entail and why you need to be conducting them.

Realistic Simulations

Tabletop exercises create realistic simulations of cyber incidents ranging from disaster scenarios where a server or network device completely dies or even a C-level executive’s account is compromised. These scenarios are designed to be realistic. Your team will be presented with evolving situations, requiring them to make decisions on the fly and act as if the incident were really happening.

Think of it as part stress test and part game. You want everyone to take the event seriously and feel a bit of pressure in the process. However, you must also ensure the exercise is engaging and purposeful so that it is not dismissed.

Structured Discussions

During and immediately after the exercise, participants should engage in structured discussions facilitated by a moderator. Topics for discussion include your company’s existing policies and response plans and what the participants would do if faced with specific threats.

As the moderator, you should guide the conversation. Ensure that all aspects of the incident are considered and that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.

After-Action Report

Data analysis is important at the end of the exercise. Compose a detailed post-exercise report to break down what went well and what needs to be done better in the future. After you’ve completed the report, sit down with your team and any outside stakeholders who participated in the exercise.

During this conversation, identify gaps and weaknesses in your current cybersecurity posture. Outside stakeholders can be particularly valuable here, as they can offer an objective look at what you are doing well and where you are falling short.

Targeted Changes 

Finally, the exercise is pointless if you don’t make strategic improvements to your policies and procedures based on results and discussions. Administer targeted training to your team so they will be better prepared in the event of a real incident. You can repeat the tabletop exercise and post-incident analysis periodically to ensure your security posture remains strong.

Benefits of Conducting Tabletop Exercises

A tabletop exercise provides severe key benefits to your business, including:

• Improved preparedness
• Enhanced teamwork
• Proactive risk management
• Regulatory compliance

You wouldn’t run a race or enter a competition without training for it. So why would you take on a cyber threat without adequate preparation? You shouldn’t. Tabletop exercises reduce your company’s vulnerability to looming threats and decrease the likelihood of a catastrophic incident.

Getting Started with Incident Simulations

If you’d like to learn more about tabletop exercises and their role in increasing cyber threat preparedness, connect with an experienced IT consulting firm. The right partner will bolster your security posture through simulations and strategic IT optimization.