Moving from Reactive to Resilient: Winning the Speed Race

𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞
Navigating the current cyber landscape feels less like a traditional battle and more like an ever-accelerating race against an unseen opponent. We're all grappling with the same fundamental shifts, but it’s critical we understand the true nature of the challenge.

Our adversaries are scaling their attacks with 𝐀𝐈, driving incredible speed and sophistication. This isn't just a technical problem; it means security leaders can no longer afford to be reactive or purely compliance driven. The key professional shift demands we become 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞-𝐥𝐞𝐝, proactive in our defence, and operate continuously to 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐩.

This urgency is perfectly underscored by past regulatory actions. Just look at the £14 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐂𝐎. While the breach occurred in 2023, its lessons are more critical than ever, as the regulatory environment and threat speed have only intensified. A key finding was their slow, manual response, specifically the 58-𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲 in containing a device after the initial alert. That failure to immediately operationalise a defence is precisely where the greatest harm and the largest fines are incurred. The cost of being slow is now astronomical.

The only way to win is to close that speed gap. That’s exactly what the team at Methods has been focused on as part of our NCSC, prepare, protect, detect and respond engagements. Their fantastic efforts wasn't just about cleaning up incidents; it was about designing a new closed-loop system where 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

This means we are no longer driven soley on a generic severity score but based on 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭. By linking intelligence directly to our response systems, the team has made our security programme not just faster, but fundamentally smarter about where we allocate our limited resources. This is a perfect example of what it means to move from a reactive stance to genuine, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

The challenge now is not to ask, "Are we compliant?" but "𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡?"

The only effective defence is one that operates at speed, leveraging intelligence to automatically pre-empt and respond. Don't wait for the next incident to prove that your speed gap is your biggest vulnerability.

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟?