Cyber resilience, the ability to maintain business operations in the face of unending and evolving cybersecurity threats, is becoming increasingly important. The rise of remote work means employees are accessing business-critical applications and networks from a wide variety of locations — from home offices to restaurants to coffee shops — as well as across more devices, such as personal and work-supplied devices. This increased worker footprint leaves companies vulnerable to more cybersecurity threats. But not all companies have the time or internal talent to achieve cyber resilience on their own. Time, talent, and experience varies by company, and businesses need to take a hard look at their internal resources and establish an approach to achieve cyber resilience. This could be a do-it-yourself approach, one in partnership with a managed services provider (MSP), or a combination of the two. For example, a company may be able to detect immediately when a cybersecurity threat emerges but need outside help in responding and recovering.

Below are questions companies should ask themselves to determine if they have the resources to achieve cyber resilience on their own

  1. Does my company have the technologies and internal processes in place to achieve cyber resilience?
  2. When was the last time we evaluated our technologies and processes to achieve cyber resilience?
  3. If a cybersecurity incident has occurred, what did we learn about our company’s state of cyber resilience, and were there deficiencies?
  4. If cyber resilience deficiencies were identified, what has been our company’s track record in resolving these deficiencies in a timely manner?
  5. What is our level of confidence in critically evaluating our current set of cyber resilience technologies and alternatives?
  6. If new or replacement technologies are needed, can our company manage the end-to-end process of evaluating and implementing change in a reasonable period of time and minimize impact on employees and business functions?

There is no single path to achieving cyber resilience. What’s most important is that companies and managed services providers take a planned, personalized, and thorough approach to achieving it for themselves and their customers. Companies that take the time to do this set themselves up for a secure and prosperous future.