Tabletop Exercise (TTX) Overview

TABLE TOP EXERCISE

A Cyber Security Tabletop Exercise (TTX) is a structured activity that evaluates an organization’s ability to respond to a cyber attack. It is designed to test the effectiveness of Incident Response (IR) plans and assess the awareness and preparedness of organizational stakeholders regarding their roles and responsibilities during a cyber incident. A TTX involves a verbally-simulated scenario that mimics a real cybersecurity incident, potentially impacting business continuity.

How is a TTX Conducted?

Experienced cyber experts lead the TTX, creating realistic cyber-attack scenarios tailored to your organization. During the exercise, participants must think critically and make decisions as they would during an actual incident. Typical participants include members of executive management, IT and OT teams, and those identified in your IR plan.

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Key Benefits of Conducting a TTX

Evaluate Incident Response Plans: Test and identify strengths and weaknesses in your current IR plans.

Improve Stakeholder Awareness: Ensure all relevant stakeholders understand their roles and responsibilities during a cyber incident.

Enhance Decision-Making Skills: Simulate real-world pressure to improve decision-making and response times.

Key Participants in a TTX

Executive Management: Provides strategic oversight and decision-making during the incident.

IT and OT Teams: Responsible for technical response and recovery efforts.

IR Plan Identified Personnel: Includes all individuals identified within the IR plan, ensuring a comprehensive response.

Why Conduct an OT Tabletop Exercise?

Organizations serious about maintaining OT business continuity and mitigating the impact of cyber-attacks must prepare for all eventualities. Regularly conducting OT Tabletop Exercises (TTX) is an effective way to ensure overall preparedness. Furthermore, regulators globally are enforcing stricter compliance standards, mandating that organizations, especially those in critical national infrastructure, regularly test their Incident Response (IR) plans through TTX. Beyond regulatory requirements, regularly testing IR plans offers several advantages:

Awareness and Realization: A well-conducted OT TTX can be an eye-opener for key stakeholders and participants. Many business executives and individuals in critical positions might not have considered certain scenarios or their potential impacts until they are exposed to them during a TTX workshop.

Enhanced Decision-Making: By simulating real crisis situations, participants experience intense pressure, leading to faster decision-making during actual incidents. Practicing worst-case scenarios ensures that when an attack occurs, there is no room for disagreements or disputes on the next steps, as they have already been rehearsed.