In recent years, I have guided numerous organizations in dealing with digital crises. I consistently see the same thing: it’s rarely the technology that fails, but often the collaboration and decision-making at critical moments. That’s why I found it valuable to contribute on behalf of CCRC to the new NCSC whitepaper: ‘Practice makes perfect.’
Why practicing is no longer optional
A script or incident response plan is a good start, but not enough. Only during an exercise do you notice if you are truly prepared. Who takes the lead? Is it clear who should do what? How do you coordinate quickly and effectively with other disciplines?
The whitepaper makes it completely clear: practicing is an indispensable part of digital resilience. Not only for IT professionals or security specialists, but also for executives, communication advisors, lawyers, and other key players. Because a cyber crisis is rarely just a technical problem, it’s an organizational issue.
Every second counts
During a cyber crisis, you don’t want to waste time on discussions about role distribution or unclear procedures. Decision-making must be quick, sharp, and well-founded. At the same time, you must communicate clearly with both internal and external stakeholders.
Exercises are the way to prepare for that. In a safe environment, you learn to collaborate under pressure, discover bottlenecks, and build trust in the crisis team.
You can have procedures perfectly on paper, but only during an exercise do you discover where the real challenges lie. That’s where the value is: in gaining experience, building trust, and testing collaboration under pressure.
From plan to practice
The whitepaper offers a concrete step-by-step plan for organizations that want to start practicing or refine existing exercises. How do you set exercise goals? What exercise forms are there? How do you organize a good evaluation?
What I find strong about this approach is that it invites organizations to make practicing practical and feasible. It doesn’t have to be grand and dramatic right away. Start small, learn, improve, and grow.
Stronger together
What appeals to me most in this whitepaper is the emphasis on collaboration between disciplines. Cyber resilience is not just a technical issue. It requires leadership, mutual coordination, legal sharpness, and thoughtful communication.
At CCRC, we see this daily in practice. The greatest progress lies in people: in their collaboration, their decision-making ability, and the trust they have in each other during a crisis. That’s exactly what good exercises reveal and strengthen.
Want to read the whitepaper?
Download ‘Practice makes perfect’ via the NCSC website
Want to practice with your crisis team too?
Do you want to set up a first tabletop? Or elevate your existing exercise structure to a higher level? CCRC supports organizations in designing, guiding, and evaluating cyber crisis exercises – tailored and practice-oriented. From Cyber Crisis Awareness Training to Cyber Crisis Simulation. Resilience begins where preparation becomes tangible.
