You’ve Been Hacked… What Now? Preparing SMEs for a Cyber Crisis During Cybersecurity Week

On 5 October during the Cybersecurity Week, SMEs from the The Hague region gathered at The Hague City Hall for ‘You’ve been hacked… What now?’, an interactive event focused on cyber crisis preparedness and digital resilience.

During the programme, the digital resilience of organisations took centre stage. What can you do to prepare your organisation for a cyber incident? And what choices do you need to make when your organisation is hit by a cyberattack? The event gave SMEs from the region the opportunity to explore these questions in practice. Rather than discussing a cyber crisis only in theory, participants were placed in a realistic ransomware scenario in which they had to respond to dilemmas and make decisions under time pressure.

Marcel Jutte (Board Member for Cybersecurity at VNO-NCW region The Hague) and Jeroen van den Berg (Municipality of The Hague) opened the event on behalf of all involved organisations. 

From preparation to crisis response

The programme combined practical information with an interactive crisis simulation.

Luuk Dijkema from the Municipality of The Hague introduced participants to Hack The Hague, highlighting how this initiative -with 120 ethical hackers testing the systems of the municipality and suppliers- contributes to strengthening cybersecurity and resilience in the city.

Tessa Hoenselaar from PVO provided a concise overview of the new Cybersecurity Act and the first concrete steps entrepreneurs can take to prepare their organisation. She also highlighted the NCSC subsidy of €1,250 available through Mijn Cyberweerbare Zaak, which can help organisations take practical steps towards improving their cyber resilience. The programme then moved from preparation to crisis response.

Experiencing a cyber crisis

What happens when systems go down, employees can no longer work, and sensitive business data may have fallen into the hands of cybercriminals? Who takes the lead, what do you communicate to employees, customers and suppliers, and how do you keep the organisation running? These were some of the questions participants faced during the interactive ransomware simulation, led by Josephine van Luik from Security Delta (HSD).

Participants experienced first-hand what a ransomware attack can mean for an organisation and were confronted with realistic dilemmas around leadership, communication and business continuity. As the scenario unfolded, they had to make decisions with incomplete information and under increasing pressure.

The exercise demonstrated that responding to a cyber incident goes beyond the technical response. Leadership, communication, business continuity and collaboration between different parts of an organisation all play an important role in managing and recovering from a cyber crisis.

By bringing together different perspectives from within the participating SMEs, the session encouraged participants to consider how responsibilities and decisions come together when an organisation is under pressure and how preparation can make a difference when a crisis actually occurs.

From awareness to digital resilience

Following the simulation, participants had the opportunity to learn more about Hack The Hague and initiatives in The Hague that can support SMEs in strengthening their cybersecurity and digital resilience.

The session underlined an important message: digital resilience is not only about preventing an attack. It is also about knowing what to do when something goes wrong.  Preparation, clear responsibilities and the ability to make decisions under pressure are essential parts of an organisation’s resilience.

‘You’ve been hacked… What now?’ was an initiative of VNO-NCW The Hague region and the Municipality of The Hague, in close collaboration with Security Delta (HSD) and Digitalzh.