Have you ever been in the middle of a real cyber incident? I hope you have not.
But if you have not been in one, how do you know how you will respond when it happens? That is exactly where tabletop exercises come in.
A tabletop exercise creates a realistic scenario, introduces pressure, removes perfect information, and forces people to make decisions in a time-sensitive, information-poor environment. In other words, it gives you the closest thing to incident response practice without having to explain to a client, regulator, insurer, or journalist why everything is currently on fire.
Join us for a live tabletop exercise webinar run by Luke Irwin of Aegis Cybersecurity and Wayne Small of The Cyber Advisory.
This will not be a lecture. We will be asking for four to six volunteers from the audience who are willing to have their cameras on and take part in the exercise. Participants will step into roles such as Managing Partner, Finance Manager, Practice Manager, Senior Solicitor, Reception Lead, and internal IT.
You may be an IT professional in real life, but in this exercise you may find yourself making decisions as part of the leadership team of an impacted legal practice. And that is the point.
The goal is not to win. The goal is not to drive off the attacker in a blaze of technical glory. The goal is not to walk away with no damage at all.
The goal is to suffer the least amount of damage possible.
That means making better decisions earlier, understanding who owns what, knowing when to escalate, understanding what clients need to be told, and working out how the business keeps functioning when things are uncertain, uncomfortable, and moving quickly.
I often describe tabletop exercises as Dungeons & Dragons for business. You are given a scenario, you take on a role, the situation evolves, and your decisions have consequences. Except instead of fighting goblins in a cave, you are dealing with client calls, trust account concerns, possible data exposure, internal confusion, and someone asking whether the journalist on the phone should be told anything useful.
The worst time to learn how to use a fire extinguisher is when there is a fire in front of you and you are reading the label. Cyber incidents are no different.
This exercise will run for approximately one to one and a half hours and will centre on a legal firm facing a live incident. Anything beyond that, you will need to turn up to find out. We look forward to seeing you there.
And if you enjoy this format, you may see another one in a larger format at the SMBiT Professionals National Conference in July. Make sure you have booked your ticket here