Page 71 - Cyber Defense eMagazine Annual RSA Edition for 2024

With more critical infrastructure now housed in the digital realm, cyberattacks have the potential to
seriously impede the lives of everyday people. For instance, if bad actors were to successfully attack a
nation’s energy grid or public transport, the effects could be devastating to its population.

Cyber resilience: Fortifying the future.

In an era defined by pervasive digital connectivity and ever-evolving threats, cyber resilience has become
a crucial pillar of survival and success for modern-day enterprises. It represents an organisation's
capacity to not just withstand and recover from cyberattacks but also to adapt, learn, and thrive in the
face of relentless and unpredictable digital challenges.

Note: Cybersecurity refers to an organization's capacity to defend against and steer clear of the growing
threat posed by cybercrimes. Cyber resilience, on the other hand, is the capacity to minimize harm
(damage to systems, procedures, and reputation), recover, and continue operating post system or data
compromise. Both adversarial threats (think hackers and other bad actors) and non-adversarial dangers
(such as basic human mistakes) are included in cyber resilience.

As cyber attacks become more sophisticated and the attack surface continues to expand, traditional
approaches to prevention are no longer sufficient. Many CISOs are shifting their focus toward more
evasive and evolving attacks, such as ransomware and advanced persistent threats. These complex
threats often go undetected by traditional cybersecurity tools, and even when detected, it is often too late
to prevent damage.

This is why cyber resilience encompasses a comprehensive strategy that includes prevention, detection,
response, and recovery, all guided by a proactive mindset that strives to anticipate threats and
continuously evolves defences.

How to make your organisation more cyber resilient: Get crafting a holistic cyber resilience
strategy.

Due to the crippling effects a cyberattack can have on a nation, governments and regulatory bodies are
also working to develop guidelines and standards which encourage organisations to embrace cyber
resilience.

For instance, the European Parliament recently passed the European Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), a
legal framework to describe the cybersecurity requirements for hardware and software products placed
on the European market. It aims to ensure manufacturers take security seriously throughout a product’s
lifecycle.

In other regions, such as India, where cybersecurity adoption is comparatively evolving, the onus falls on
industry leaders to work with governmental bodies and other enterprises to encourage the development
and adoption of similar obligations.

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