Five Core Elements Of An Effective Cyber Response Capability

Brian Zawada

Article Originally Published on Forbes in August 2021

When Colonial Pipeline was forced to shut down its 5,500 miles of pipeline after being hit by a cyberattack in May, it impacted more than just your daily commute. What followed was a temporary gas shortage caused by panicked Americans and a major disruption not only for Colonial Pipeline but also for organizations that rely on the top pipeline operator’s fuel supplies — all because of a ransomware attack. 

“The shutdown of such a vital pipeline, one that has served the East Coast since the early 1960s, highlights the vulnerability of aging infrastructure that has been connected, directly or indirectly, to the internet,” the New York Times reported. Ultimately, this disruption demonstrates to me the importance of not only preventing cyber attacks such as ransomware but also the importance of maintaining the capability to respond to such an attack.

An effective response capability should leverage robust business continuity capabilities to help alleviate the impact and keep the organization well-positioned to meet the demands of the market and its customer base…

Read the full article on Forbes

Brian Zawada

Chief Strategy Officer

Brian brings more than 25 years of experience managing and building world-class, global business continuity programs to his role as Chief Strategy Officer for Castellan. Outside of his work with Castellan and its clients, Brian previously served as the Head of the United States Delegation to ISO Technical Committee 223, the authors of ISO 22301. Brian contributed to ISO 22301 and led the project team that created ISO 22317, the business impact analysis standard, and ISO 22331, the business continuity strategy determination standard. Brian is a frequent author and speaker, currently serving on the Editorial Advisory Board of Continuity Insights magazine. Brian previously served as the Business Continuity Institute US Chapter Board President and as the President of the Northern Ohio Chapter of the Association of Contingency Planners. Brian is certified as a Fellow of the Business Continuity Institute. In 2020, he published his first book The Business Continuity Operating System. Brian is also a two time Lifetime Achievement award winner from CIR (2021) and the BCI.

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