Why Cyber Resilience Matters More Than Cybersecurity

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Cybersecurity encompasses the safeguarding of devices, networks, programs, and data against unauthorized digital intrusions. It emphasizes preemptive measures through the implementation of firewalls, deployment of antivirus solutions, and the promotion of robust password protocols.

Despite these preventive efforts, it is inevitable that certain cyber threats will penetrate these defenses. This inevitability introduces the concept of cyber resilience — the capacity to maintain safe, efficient, and cost-effective operations in the face of such disruptions as cyber attacks.

The significance of cyber resilience arguably surpasses that of mere cybersecurity for several reasons:

Cyber attacks are inevitable

No matter how strong our cyber defenses are, it is impossible to prevent all cyber attacks given how widespread networks are and how sophisticated hackers have become. For example, even big tech companies like Microsoft, Facebook and Equifax with huge cybersecurity budgets have suffered major breaches.

So we have to assume some attacks will happen and focus on building resilience - the ability to handle and recover from attacks.

The costs of downtime after an attack are huge