Warren Bonheim | Managing Director | Zinia | mail me |
You don’t need to run a big business to attract cybercriminals. In fact, cybercriminals often target medium-sized businesses first. These businesses are digital enough to be vulnerable but not mature enough to secure themselves fully.
Cyber game plan – why leadership matters
If you are the CEO, MD or GM, you lead the response in a crisis. Clients expect answers from you. Your team relies on you when systems go down. The board or owners hold you accountable for recovery. That’s why you must take ownership of your cyber game plan.
Cybersecurity goes beyond technical issues. It presents a strategic, financial and reputational risk that you, as the leader, must manage directly.
Business continuity drives your operational and strategic goals. For that reason, your cyber game plan must form part of your core business strategy. It must address the people, processes and systems that build resilience. You must know whether IT has things under control, not just assume they do. When operations stall, customer data vanishes and phones ring nonstop, you’ll realise how critical preparedness is.
Cyber risk requires a game plan
If you haven’t asked how your organisation will respond to a cyberattack, you represent the weakest link in your security chain. Cyber risk has become a core business risk. Ignoring this reality exposes your company to serious consequences.
Six questions you should answer today when coming up with a cyber game plan:
- Do we have a cyber incident response plan, and has leadership reviewed it?
- Do we know what to do in the first 30 minutes of an attack?
- Have we done a cyber drill with our executive and communications team?
- Have we trained employees on basic cyber hygiene (passwords, phishing, MFA)?
- What is our stance on ransomware payments, and have we reviewed this with our legal advisor?
- Are our backups isolated, tested and recoverable within hours?
- How do we demonstrate to clients and stakeholders that we take cyber risk seriously?
If you cannot confidently answer these questions, you need to take action now. Preparation cannot wait.
How strengthen your cyber game plan
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Take strategic ownership
Your job is to provide strategic oversight. You don’t need to know every technical detail. No one expects you to understand ransomware payloads or detection software. But they do expect you to ask the right questions and challenge assumptions.
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Have a written and tested response plan
Ensure there is a cyber incident response plan. It should be tested through a mock scenario. The plan must clearly outline roles, responsibilities, timelines, key contacts and escalation steps. In a crisis, speed is critical.
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Make cybersecurity an ongoing responsibility
Cybersecurity is not a one-time audit. It is an ongoing process that needs ownership. Assign responsibility internally or through a trusted MSSP. Schedule quarterly reviews to stay updated on risks, incidents, threats, compliance and recovery.
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Drive a culture of awareness
Cyber resilience starts with people. Make sure your team is trained to spot phishing, use strong passwords, enable MFA and report suspicious activity quickly.
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Test your backup and recovery plan
Having backups is not enough. Test them regularly. Confirm that data can be recovered quickly and is not corrupted. Never assume it’s handled. Ask for a demonstration or walkthrough.
Cyber game plan – lead from the front
Cybersecurity is not just a checkbox. It is not just an IT upgrade. The truth is, cyber resilience starts with you, the leader. The threat is real. So is your power to be ready. Ask tough questions. Stay proactive. And lead your business from risk to resilience.
