Cyber resilience is measured in minutes, not firewalls

Cyber resilience depends not only on the security controls an organization has, but on how quickly its leaders can understand an incident, make decisions and restore operations, according to TechRadar contributor Michael Woodbridge, a partner in Grant Thornton UK’s Cybersecurity Practice.

Grant Thornton’s latest Finance Leaders Barometer found that cyber incidents had an average financial impact of £488,000 over a two-year period. It also found that 82% of CFOs had experienced a cyber incident with direct financial consequences, while 79% said ownership of key business risks remained unclear in their organizations.

The article argues that incident costs increasingly depend on the time needed to establish what happened, assign responsibility, make decisions and resume operations. Delays can add to operational disruption, financial loss and reputational damage. After an incident, boards may focus on the cost, the duration of disruption, and whether customers, suppliers or regulators need to be informed.

Woodbridge says organizations can improve their response by agreeing in advance who owns risks, who makes decisions, how issues escalate and what level of risk the business will accept. He also argues that cybersecurity teams should explain investments in terms of business continuity, revenue and customer trust, rather than only technical controls.

The article says AI is accelerating both attacks and vulnerability discovery, leaving leaders less time to assess incidents and their commercial impact. It concludes that preparation and clear decision-making responsibilities matter alongside security tools.