Community IT Innovators Nonprofit Technology Topics

Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercise for Nonprofits with Matt Eshleman pt 2

• Community IT Innovators • Season 6 • Episode 31

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Learn how to run this valuable training tool from Community IT Chief Technology Officer and resident cybersecurity guru Matthew Eshleman, who explains how to carry out a cybersecurity tabletop exercise for your nonprofit and why this type of active testing is so valuable to your security planning. 

In pt 1, Matt and Carolyn go over what a tabletop exercise is and how they fit into your cybersecurity planning for your nonprofit. In pt 2, Matt describes 3 scenarios specific to nonprofits that you can use, and reviews general lessons learned and best practices from his work with clients.

Make regular cybersecurity tabletop exercises part of your nonprofit incident response plan.

Do you regularly practice your nonprofit’s cybersecurity incident response?

If you haven’t had a cybersecurity incident yet, count yourself lucky. If you have, you probably encountered some questions you wish you had had the answers to before the incident began to unfold.

That’s where a cybersecurity tabletop exercise for nonprofit has enormous value. A cybersecurity tabletop exercise simulates a cybersecurity incident in a controlled environment so you can practice your response and discover weaknesses before they become damaging. 

For example, a staff member alerts you that they clicked on a malicious link in an email and now their laptop is “acting funny.” Do you have a phone tree of the people you need to contact? What if someone important is on vacation, who do you contact then? What if everyone’s laptops are frozen, can you still access important contacts? What do you do next? 

Cybersecurity tabletop exercises can be elaborate or simple, run by a consultant or run from within. It is surprising how many nonprofits that regularly review and evaluate their programming never use the same principles to evaluate their basic cybersecurity preparedness.


How can your nonprofit get started on this practice?

If you’ve never walked through a cybersecurity tabletop exercise at your nonprofit, you may be intimidated at the prospect or have trouble prioritizing it and carving out time on everyone’s calendar. In this webinar, Matt introduces some popular resources, describes common examples of tabletop exercises, and explains how to adapt this skill-building exercise for nonprofits. 

Matt Eshleman has run through cybersecurity tabletop exercises with many nonprofit clients and guides you through best practices and first steps to get started. Don’t wait to introduce this valuable training tool to learn where you can strengthen your practices and better protect your organization in these challenging times.

As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience.

Download the free eBook on Cybersecurity at Nonprofits: https://communityit.com/download-cybersecurity-readiness-for-nonprofits-playbook/

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