Cyber crisis management: a strategic lever for executives

Article adapted from the original column written by Stéphanie Ledoux and published in Cadre & Dirigeant Magazine (in French).

No organization is safe from a cyberattack. For executives, the real challenge is therefore no longer merely to reduce risk, but to prepare their company to face it. Governance, organization, training: cyber crisis management now stands as a strategic lever of resilience.

In French entrepreneurial culture, acknowledging that not everything can be controlled often remains difficult. Uncertainty is readily perceived as a weakness and failure retains a negative connotation. Anglo-Saxon cultures take a different approach: they see risk-taking as a driver of progress and view failure as a normal stage of learning. This outlook is perfectly illustrated by this quotation from Winston Churchill: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

Adopting this stance means accepting risk, understanding it and integrating it into the company’s strategy. This approach not only makes it possible to better confront situations of uncertainty, but also to create an environment conducive to lasting innovation.

Cybersecurity is a concrete illustration of this. For several years, organizations have been investing heavily in protective measures, with the often implicit ambition of preventing any cyberattack. This mission rests essentially on the CISO, sometimes with the support of the CIO, who continuously strengthens the company’s technical defenses. This strategy is indispensable. On its own, however, it is not enough.

The myth of zero risk: a strategic trap

Imagining that an organization can completely eliminate cyber risk is an illusion.

Concentrating every effort on prevention amounts to assuming that a cyberattack can always be avoided. Yet when a major incident occurs, which inevitably happens sooner or later, companies that have prepared only their defenses rarely have the reflexes, the organization and the processes required to manage the situation effectively. The operational, financial and reputational consequences can then last well beyond the event.

Napoleon stated: “To be defeated is excusable, to be surprised is unforgivable.”

This idea resonates particularly in cyber crisis management. Falling victim to an attack is not, in itself, the real failure. The real failure lies in not having prepared the organization to react when it happens.

Accepting that a company is vulnerable is not an admission of weakness. It is an act of clear-sightedness. Yet many organizations still associate a cyberattack with a failure that should be concealed. Such an attitude now conflicts with regulatory requirements, and also with the expectations of the various stakeholders. Above all, it complicates the management of the crisis itself.

From risk to a lever for transformation

Reducing cyber risk to a threat that should merely be avoided means overlooking everything it can bring to the organization.

When it is integrated into strategic thinking, anticipated and understood, it becomes a genuine driver of continuous improvement.

Executives who accept that they cannot control everything establish a form of leadership grounded more in authenticity and in people. They encourage initiative, foster cooperation between teams and create the conditions for collective learning.

Preparing an organization for cyber crisis management also produces effects that reach well beyond cybersecurity. This approach brings teams together around a common objective, strengthens their ability to act collectively, develops the company’s resilience and gradually instills a culture of shared accountability.

Effective cyber crisis management: the fundamentals

Effective cyber crisis management begins with clearly defined governance.

The response to a crisis cannot rest on the CIO alone. It involves all of the company’s strategic functions: executive leadership, communications, human resources, finance, legal, the DPO and others. All of them are meant to take part in the crisis cell.

This organization must be built on a formalized cyber crisis management plan, specifying in particular:

• governance arrangements, including the composition of the crisis cell, decision-making channels and reporting obligations
• degraded mode scenarios, particularly in the event of network outages or a shift to remote work
• communication strategies, both internally and outside the company
• technical remediation actions, whether restoration, investigation or business continuity.

Finally, a cyber crisis management program can only be truly effective if it is regularly put to the test. Exercises, simulations and post-incident reviews make it possible to correct existing programs and adapt them to a constantly evolving threat environment.

Accepting in order to act

When a cyberattack occurs, limiting its consequences rests above all on the organization’s ability to deliver a fast, coordinated and deeply human response. This means fully treating cyber risk as a business risk, on the same footing as the other strategic risks to which the company is exposed.

By making cyber crisis management part of its governance, an organization does not simply prepare better for incidents. It improves its collective functioning, strengthens the clarity of its processes and develops more responsible leadership.

So, to executives: are you ready to turn cyber risk into a lever for transformation for your company?

FAQ: cyber crisis management and the role of executives