Vinod D’Souza and Chris Cornillie from Google Cloud published an article on the Google Cloud blog about the crucial role CISOs play in collaborating with cloud providers to enhance their organization's incident preparedness. The article emphasizes the importance of embracing a "shared fate" approach, where cloud providers proactively work with customers to strengthen their security posture.
I was particularly intrigued by the article's focus on the significance of conducting regular tests of disaster recovery systems and incident response playbooks. Organizations often place a heavy emphasis on the preventative aspects of cybersecurity while neglecting the importance of effective incident preparedness. Conducting regular simulations, such as those offered by Google Cloud and Mandiant, can help organizations identify and address gaps in their plans before an actual incident occurs.
Furthermore, the article highlighted the importance of thoroughly understanding Service Level Agreements (SLAs), particularly concerning incident management. Security teams cannot afford to wait until an incident occurs to review their SLA for the first time. It is essential to understand what types of support the cloud provider will cover during an outage or incident and what they will not.
In conclusion, the article provides practical guidance for CISOs to effectively collaborate with cloud providers to improve their cybersecurity preparedness. By adopting a proactive approach, conducting regular tests, and thoroughly understanding their SLAs, organizations can significantly minimize the impact of cybersecurity incidents.
