Exercise – A first introduction to practicing: exploring together what a cyber crisis really means
Many organizations have prepared their cyber crisis response on paper, but do not know how it holds up once pressure builds. In this foundational exercise, the team works through a realistic cyber incident. It becomes clear who makes decisions, who communicates, and which initial actions make sense. The result is a shared understanding of roles and expectations, without immediately going into full complexity.
Our valued customers:
Is this Exercise the right next step for you?
For teams that know they need to practice, but don’t have a clear starting point yet.
The Exercise is a good fit if you:
- notice that people want to take action, but don't share the same understanding of roles, mandates, and escalation
- want to show MT/operations/IT/security/comms the importance of practicing for a cyber crisis
- already have plans or runbooks and want to practice them to see what insights you gain
The Exercise is not a good fit if you:
- are only looking for general awareness, such as e-learning and other training on cybersecurity principles. We focus exclusively on cyber crisis exercises.
- primarily want to test your own runbooks/scenarios; in that case, Simulation is a better fit
- already have an established response routine with a fixed exercise cycle and are just looking for more repetition. In that case, Program is a better fit
The plan is there, but the team is not aligned
In many organizations, the cyber crisis approach exists mainly on paper. Roles and agreements are documented but haven’t been practiced together. Everyone knows part of the story, leading to confusion under pressure. Decision-making slows down, communication becomes fragmented, and escalation only begins once the problem has already grown.
From "sort of knowing" to being able to act together in a structured way
Basis provides your team with a shared response foundation: a common language, role clarity, and initial actions, making decision-making and communication predictable under pressure. Not through more documents, but by practicing together and identifying exactly what is needed in your context to maintain control.
This is how it works:
This introductory cyber crisis exercise requires no preparation time. Management and the crisis team immediately experience how decision-making and coordination unfold under pressure, making the importance of practice tangible. The setup is also suitable for practicing with supply chain partners to make dependencies visible.
- Plenary session and group work
- Guidance by experienced cyber crisis professionals
- Up to approximately 40 participants
- Duration: 2.5 to 3.5 hours
- Preferably on location
Choose the approach that fits where your organization stands
Practice your crisis approach as it should work in reality
A realistic, tailored cyber crisis, practiced with your own plan, processes, and crisis team.
Structural practice, better prepared every year
Recurring simulations that evolve every year with the reality of your organization.
Practice together with your supply chain partners
One crisis scenario, practiced with the crisis teams of two or more organizations in your chain.
Help with your crisis organization, from strategy to playbook
From a departing CISO to a playbook that didn’t work in an exercise: we step in to address the issues that arise before, or alongside, the training.
Why organizations choose to conduct cyber exercises with CCRC
You will train decision-making, roles and communication as it feels in a real cyber crisis.
Experienced
crisis professionals:
You practice with people who know how decision-making and collaboration under pressure really work, not junior trainers.
100% focus on cyber crisis exercises:
No consultancy or security services on the side: just training, simulating and improving your crisis response skills.
From first exercise to established routine:
We guide organizations from their very first experience to structured, annual exercises with visible progress.
Frequently asked questions
Exercise is CCRC's foundational cyber crisis practice: a team works through a realistic incident to discover who makes decisions, who communicates, and what initial actions make sense. The result is a shared understanding of roles, without going into full complexity.
An Exercise takes 2.5 to 3.5 hours, preferably on location, with up to approximately 40 participants guided by an experienced crisis professional. No preparation time is required beforehand.
Exercise is a first introduction to practicing roles and decision-making without needing an existing plan. Simulation goes further: it tests your organization's own crisis plan and runbooks under realistic pressure to see whether they actually hold up.
Yes, Exercise works well even with existing plans or runbooks, since practicing them reveals whether the team understands and can apply what's documented. Organizations wanting a deeper test of their own plan specifically may prefer Simulation instead.
Yes, the Exercise setup is also suitable for practicing with supply chain partners, making mutual dependencies and expectations visible alongside internal roles and escalation paths.
Typically the crisis team roles (lead, logger, communication expert) alongside representatives from IT, security, operations, and communications, since the goal is a shared understanding of roles and mandates across these functions.
Broadly yes: Exercise functions like an industry-standard, facilitated tabletop exercise built around a realistic scenario and structured decision-making (using the BOB method), rather than a generic, off-the-shelf template.
An Exercise is a strong first step toward demonstrable practice under NIS2, but regulators expect periodic repetition and organization-wide involvement. A single Exercise is a valid start; ongoing compliance typically means progressing toward Simulation or a structural Program.