Technology
Technical foundations
Infrastructure, tools and the ability to detect, contain and recover. The technical foundations your response depends on.
Cyber DNA · Readiness Framework
Every organisation hasits own readiness profile.
Every organisation has a different mix of infrastructure, people, operational dependencies and decision-making structures. Cyber DNA is the CyberUP framework that connects what your organisation knows, what it does and how it responds under pressure.
Methodology under development. Read about the validation process.
Your organisation’s profile
Four dimensions.
One connected view.
- TechnologyInfrastructure and tools
- PeopleKnowledge and behaviour
- ProcessesProcedures and dependencies
- DecisionsPriorities and leadership
One organisation · Four dimensions
Readiness depends on how everything connects.
Cyber DNA considers readiness as a system: technology, people, processes and decisions must support a coordinated response as pressure builds.
The starting point
Your organisation’s context. Not a one-size-fits-all profile.
People
People and behaviour
Knowledge, awareness, roles and behaviour: the ability to act appropriately when time and information are limited.
Processes
Operational processes
Procedures, escalation, dependencies, responsibilities and operational continuity. Turning policy into action.
Decisions
Decision-making
Priorities, trade-offs, coordination and leadership. Where a technical incident tests the whole organisation.
Knowledge and performance
From knowledge
to action.
The framework combines baseline assessment with observation during exercises. These complementary perspectives help explain how readiness translates into operational behaviour.
Baseline
Baseline & Assessment
What your
organisation knows.
Baseline assessment examines knowledge, awareness, understanding of roles, adherence to procedures and organisational maturity before the exercise.
Simulation
Simulation & Validation
How it responds
under pressure.
Simulations observe response times, escalation, coordination, decisions, containment and recovery in realistic, controlled scenarios.
A profile that needs context.
Knowledge and behaviour provide complementary evidence across the same dimensions: technology, people, processes and decisions. Bringing them together informs improvement priorities; it does not produce a validated composite score at this stage.
The wider methodology
This evidence informs the CyberUP Method.
Assess→Simulate→Measure→Improve
Readiness profile
Readiness,
made visible.
Cyber DNA aims to turn evidence from assessments and exercises into a coherent view of organisational readiness: clear enough for senior leaders, specific enough to guide improvement.
An interpretation of evidence, not a validated composite score.
Evidence map
Two perspectives on each dimension.
Illustrative areas of observation, not an organisation’s results. This view assigns no levels, percentages or scores.
| Dimension | Baseline Knowledge and preparation | Simulation Behaviour and performance |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | Infrastructure, tools and response capabilities. | Detection, containment and recovery during the exercise. |
| People | Risk awareness and understanding of individual roles. | Behaviour and the ability to act with limited information. |
| Processes | Procedures, responsibilities and operational dependencies. | Escalation, coordination and continuity. |
| Decisions | Priorities, responsibilities and decision criteria. | Decisions and trade-offs under pressure. |
The profile remains tied to its context and the available evidence.
Making readiness observable
The questions that
define readiness.
The framework makes visible the areas that often remain untested until a crisis.
Escalation
How quickly does a signal reach the right decision-maker?
Detecting a signal, escalating it and establishing ownership.
Leadership
Who decides when information is incomplete?
Priorities, responsibilities and trade-offs.
Coordination
Do IT, OT, Cyber and leadership share the same operational priority?
A crisis tests the dependencies between teams.
Communications
Are Legal and Communications involved at the right time?
Timing and coordination affect trust and continuity. Involvement depends on the scenario and established procedures.
Operational processes
Do procedures hold up under pressure?
From written procedure to execution.
Improvement
What actually changes after the exercise?
Evidence, gaps, corrective actions and follow-up checks.
Methodology development
Validate first. Standardise only after.
Cyber DNA’s methodology is under development. Its dimensions, approach to interpreting evidence and reporting are being defined, piloted and validated before becoming an established methodology.
The aim is a structured, repeatable view that supports readiness governance.
The framework validation cycle
This cycle develops the model itself. It is distinct from the CyberUP Method and from incident response.
- Define
Set the scope
Define the framework’s dimensions, evidence, use cases and decision-making objectives.
- Pilot
Test the model
Apply the model to sample groups and controlled scenarios.
- Validate
Check consistency
Evaluate the consistency, usefulness, repeatability and quality of the findings.
- Refine
Refine the approach
Refine the methodology and connect it to continuous improvement.
Cyber DNA · Your organisation
People. Systems. Processes. Decisions.
Explore how to assess your organisation’s readiness.
We start with your actual context: people, systems, processes, dependencies and decisions. Together, these inform a readiness profile grounded in what your organisation must protect and keep running.
A conversation for senior leaders, CISOs, CIOs, COOs and risk teams in mission-critical organisations.
Start with your organisation’s context.
Tell us which responsibilities, processes or capabilities you need to test. You can leave the objective open and define it with us.
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 DNA