It’s a common trap for organisations, believing that bigger budgets automatically mean better data resilience. The truth is while investing in cutting edge solutions is important, it’s certainly not a sliver bullet. At the core, true cyber readiness is about people: empowering your teams, honing your processes and building a culture that’s genuinely prepared to face the unexpected.
Boardroom blind spots
Overconfidence in your organisation’s cybersecurity posture can sometimes mask critical vulnerabilities lurking beneath the surface. True cyber resilience requires more than just investment and reassurance; it demands an ongoing and honest evaluation of blind spots and risks within your environment. According to our recent Forbes article, by prioritising transparency, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and encouraging open and candid dialogue with executive board members, you can help ensure that overconfidence doesn’t become your organisation’s greatest weakness.
CISO as coach: building a recovery team
True leadership extends beyond simply managing tools and technologies, it’s about inspiring and elevating your team. Forward-thinking chief information security officers and chief information officers recognise that their organisation is only as strong as their teams, and those teams should be adaptive and continuously evolving. By embracing a coaching mindset and fostering a culture of learning, strategic collaboration and empowerment, you and your organisation can more easily stay ahead of emerging threats. Readiness involves good coaching and strong teams, so changing up leadership techniques and continuously re-evaluating approaches is essential.
Race against time: the first hour post-attack
In the aftermath of discovering a cyber incident, the actions taken in the first 24 hours can define the trajectory of your organisation’s recovery and reputation. As security leaders, it’s critical to recognise that speed, coordination and clarity are paramount in this critical window. It’s not enough to just have a plan on paper; true preparedness comes from cultivating a culture of readiness that empowers teams to act decisively and communicate clearly in a crisis. Prioritising rapid, well-coordinated responses and regular re-evaluation of practices can help turn crisis moments into opportunities for resilience.
Beyond the budget: what real readiness looks like
It’s tempting to think technology alone will solve the problem of ransomware. Automation and top-tier tools are certainly vital, but at the end of the day, people and processes are the backbone of true resilience. As cyberthreats grow more sophisticated, organisations must shift their mindset to prioritising incident response preparation, ongoing staff training, tabletop exercises, communication planning and regular testing and re-evaluation of response plans.
Our very own senior vice president of product strategy Dave Russell and field chief technology officer Emilee Tellez sat down with Six Five Media to unravel what boards need to know about cyber preparedness, including why agility, rapid remediation and taking a proactive stance is non-negotiable when it comes to true readiness.
Lessons from the front lines: VanHelsing
Too many organisations learn the hard way: Paying a ransom doesn’t guarantee you’ll get your data back. The VanHelsing ransomware saga is a powerful reminder that data resilience isn’t about hoping for the best, it’s about preparing for the worst. Your teams, solutions and preparation efforts are your true safety nets, not the false promises of cybercriminals.
VanHelsing, launched in March 2025, exemplifies today’s ransomware as a service model, which is characterised by turn-key tools for ransomware and extortion that are available to cybercriminals with all levels of expertise. Recovery from faulty encryption or corrupted data is not an option. Ransomware as a service makes attacks more frequent, which only serves to emphasise why robust incident response and investing in your teams is more important now than ever.
Veeam news
For this month’s industry insights episode, join Leah Troscianecki, Rick Vanover and other members of the Veeam team to discover how to transform data bottlenecks into AI breakthroughs by enabling instant, secure access to your entire enterprise data state.
Plus, you won’t want to miss this month’s first ever Tech Bites Takeover, which covers how immutability is reshaping data protection strategies. From ransomware defence to regulatory compliance, Tyler Jurgens and Matt Crape break down what it means to keep your data truly unchangeable, and why it matters. Tech Bites Takeover will be a reoccurring series on our regular Tech Bites channel, so tune in the second Thursday of every month to see what they are talking about next.
The bottom line
Cyber readiness isn’t a destination; it’s an ongoing journey. More than tools and technology, it’s about empowering your people, refining your processes and building a culture of resilience. Are you ready to go beyond the illusion of security and achieve real cyber readiness?
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