Protect the environment
Cybersecurity
Firewalls, EDR, SOC, SIEM, threat intelligence and penetration testing are part of your defences. Organisational preparedness does not replace them.
Cyber Crisis Readiness
TECHNOLOGY · PEOPLE · PROCESSES · DECISIONS
REHEARSE THE RESPONSE. PROTECT CONTINUITY.
CyberUP prepares the whole organisation to decide, coordinate and respond when an attack gets through its defences — connecting technical response and business continuity in one operational capability.
Protection + preparation
Security reduces risk.
Readiness prepares the response.
Cybersecurity investments are essential. CyberUP complements them by testing what happens when people, processes and systems must work together under pressure.
Prepare the organisation
Cyber Crisis Readiness
Tests decisions, roles, processes and coordination to establish how the organisation responds when prevention is not enough.
Organisational impact
The incident does not stay in the systems.
- Data and confidentiality
- Information exposure and assessment by the responsible functions.
- Business continuity
- Systems, activities and processes that need to remain available.
- Customer services
- Service availability and the ability to handle customer requests.
- Reputation and trust
- Consistent messaging and stakeholder relationships.
- Financial impact
- Response costs, disruption and wider organisational consequences.
Possible consequences to assess in the organisation’s context. These are not mandatory stages or an incident timeline.
Crisis response
A crisis tests
your decisions.
The reference sequence connects technical response with crisis management. Simulation tests the handovers between functions, not just individual technical actions.
Incident / Crisis Response
Exercise scenario: a critical service is unavailable; the impact remains to be established.
Detect · 1 of 6
Recognise the signal.
A technical anomaly or report must be recognised, captured and shared with the appropriate functions. The exercise observes how information enters the response process.
The question to test
What evidence makes this signal relevant to the organisation?
Evidence to observe during the exercise
- The source of the report and information available.
- Systems or services potentially affected.
- The handover of information to the responsible team.
Triage · 2 of 6
Prioritise the incident.
The initial assessment connects the signal with the operational context. It tests the ability to distinguish what is urgent, what is critical and what needs further investigation.
The question to test
Which services and processes need priority attention?
Evidence to observe during the exercise
- The priority assigned and the reasons behind it.
- Operational dependencies considered in the assessment.
- Missing information and responsibility for investigating it.
Investigate · 3 of 6
Build a reliable picture.
The functions involved compare evidence, assumptions and potential impacts. The aim is to support informed decisions even while the incident picture is incomplete.
The question to test
What do we know, what are we assuming and what still needs to be verified?
Evidence to observe during the exercise
- The distinction between confirmed facts and assumptions.
- The scope and dependencies examined.
- Updates shared with decision-makers.
Escalate · 4 of 6
Engage the right decision-making authority.
Escalation brings the incident to people with the appropriate authority, mandate and responsibilities. Simulation tests whether roles and activation criteria are genuinely understood across the organisation.
The question to test
Who has the authority to decide, and who needs to be involved?
Evidence to observe during the exercise
- Escalation criteria and the functions engaged.
- Clarity of mandate and responsibilities.
- Alignment between technical response and crisis management.
Contain · 5 of 6
Limit the impact. Coordinate the decisions.
Containment actions are considered alongside essential services, processes and business continuity. The exercise observes coordination between technical teams and those responsible for business decisions.
The question to test
What operational consequences could this containment decision have?
Evidence to observe during the exercise
- Containment decisions and their rationale.
- IT / OT dependencies and processes considered.
- Coordination with Operations, leadership and crisis functions.
Recover · 6 of 6
Restore services with shared priorities.
Recovery needs clear criteria, responsibilities and a shared view of operational priorities. Simulation tests how the organisation coordinates the return of services and related communications.
The question to test
What evidence and responsibilities support the return to operations?
Evidence to observe during the exercise
- Recovery priorities and verification criteria.
- Agreed technical and operational responsibilities.
- Internal updates and stakeholder communications.
These phases are not fixed time windows. Activities may overlap and repeat. Escalation and containment may be needed while investigation continues. Timing and activation depend on the scenario and the organisation’s governance. Legal and Communications are involved according to need and procedure, not after a preset number of minutes.
Whole-organisation readiness
One response.
Every critical function.
Readiness connects technical capability, governance and business continuity. Each function needs to understand its role, authority and dependencies before a real crisis exposes them.
Leadership
C-Level & Board
Set priorities, decision-making responsibilities and business continuity criteria.
Coordination
Crisis Team
Coordinates escalation, information and actions across the functions involved.
Technical response
Cyber / SOC / IR
Gathers and analyses evidence, coordinates the technical response and shares the incident picture.
Operations
IT / OT / ICS
Connects systems, dependencies and essential processes with containment and recovery decisions.
Governance
Legal & Compliance
Assesses applicable obligations and supports decisions and engagement with relevant authorities.
Trust
Communications
Aligns information for employees, customers and stakeholders with the verified crisis picture.
Distinct responsibilities.
Coordinated direction.
Coordinated direction.
The functions involved depend on the scenario and the organisation. The response is rehearsed as a coordinated system.
Employees contribute through appropriate behaviour, reporting and adherence to procedures. Participation in an exercise depends on the priorities being tested.
The CyberUP method
From simulation
to improvement.
Readiness is a cycle: understand the context, test the response, observe performance and turn evidence into practical action.
Assess
Understand the context: roles, dependencies, processes, knowledge and operational priorities.
Shared starting point and objectivesSimulate
Test the response through realistic, controlled scenarios built around the organisation’s context.
Exercise and evidence gatheringMeasure
Observe decisions, timing, coordination and behaviour against the exercise objectives.
Observed gaps and performanceImprove
Translate evidence into priorities, improvement actions and further validation.
Action plan and further validation
Observable readiness
Participation is not enough.
What you learn matters.
Measurement is meaningful when linked to the scenario, starting point and agreed objectives. Evidence helps identify gaps and improvement priorities.
Leadership
Decision quality
Available information, decision timing, reasoning and priorities adopted.
Organisation
Coordination
Roles activated, handovers of responsibility and the quality of shared information.
Cyber + IT / OT
Containment
Actions taken and their alignment with the scenario’s technical and operational dependencies.
Operations
Recovery
Priorities, verification criteria and coordination of the return to operations.
Legal + Communications
Communication and trust
Alignment of messages with verified facts and the responsibilities of the functions involved.
The exercise connects observations to an action plan: responsibilities, priorities and further testing. A simulation tests the response to the scenario exercised; it does not guarantee the outcome of every real crisis.
Cyber Arena
The attack is simulated.
The response is real.
The Cyber Arena puts readiness into practice in a controlled, configurable environment for exercising technical response, decisions and coordination. The configuration reflects the context and the objectives to be tested.
A dedicated exercise environment
Environments are isolated or segregated from the client’s production network. Where required, remote access, support and updates use controlled connectivity. Exercises do not run directly on production systems.
Readiness Check
If it happens tomorrow,
will you know what to do?
Four questions to focus the conversation. They do not generate a score; they help identify what needs testing.
Who has the mandate to make critical decisions when a crisis emerges?
Do IT, OT, Security and management share a clear understanding of roles, priorities and responsibilities?
Do Legal and Communications know when to act and what information to share?
Have you tested this response together in a simulation under pressure?
Start with your organisation.
Your operational context, the functions involved and your priorities define what to put to the test.
Email us directly or fill in the form below: we’ll get back to you.
Write to us
Email us directly or fill in the form below: we’ll get back to you.
Email us: info@cyberupinstitute.com
Your current interest: Cyber Crisis Readiness