In the latest episode of Reimagining Cyber, Rob interviews Bindu Sundaresan, Director of Cybersecurity Solutions at Level Blue, about the evolution and significance of cyber resilience. Bindu, with over 20 years in cybersecurity, discusses how the field has shifted from a focus solely on prevention to a broader approach that includes resilience and recovery.

Key points from the conversation:

1.    Historical Focus: Traditionally, cybersecurity strategies concentrated on preventing attacks. However, the current threat landscape necessitates a shift towards resilience, acknowledging that breaches are inevitable.

2.    Modern Approach: Organizations are now integrating business continuity planning and disaster recovery with cybersecurity efforts. This holistic approach ensures that operations can continue and recover swiftly after an attack.

3.    Business Alignment: Bindu emphasizes that cybersecurity should be seen not just as a technical issue but as a business problem affecting overall operations. This shift in perspective helps align cybersecurity efforts with business outcomes and improves the strategic value of cybersecurity roles.

4.    CISO's Role: For Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), successfully integrating resilience into their programs involves understanding and prioritizing risks based on business impact. This requires effective communication with other business units and aligning cybersecurity investments with broader business goals.

5.    Evolution of Cybersecurity: The conversation highlights the shift from compliance-driven approaches to risk-driven and resilience-focused strategies. This evolution is crucial for achieving digital resilience and 

6.    Identifying Sensitive Data: Organizations must first identify what constitutes sensitive data for their specific context, considering regulatory requirements, business use, and industry standards. Without this understanding, investments in data protection might be misallocated.

7.    Data Classification and Flow: It is crucial to classify sensitive data and map how it flows within and outside the organization. This helps in applying appropriate security controls and prevents unnecessary complexity and expense.

8.    Continuous Review: Data classification and protection are not one-time tasks. Organizations need to regularly update their data inventory and classification as their data environment evolves

9.    Incident Response and Resilience: Organizations should develop tiered recovery plans that prioritize critical business functions during incidents. Regularly updated tabletop exercises should simulate realistic and current scenarios to test response plans effectively.

10.Cross-Functional Involvement: Effective incident response involves cross-functional teams, including IT, legal, PR, and executive leadership. Establishing what constitutes minimum viable operations helps prioritize recovery efforts and resource allocation during an incident.

11.Evolving Practices: The goal is to continuously refine incident response and recovery practices to improve resilience over time. Embracing a lifecycle approach to security and resilience can turn digital resilience into a competitive advantage.

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