Whether you’re a small company or one as large as Colonial Pipeline or T-Mobile, not having any cyber incident response plan will cause major problems and disruptions. When you’re hit with a breach, without a plan in place, your security and management teams will be scrambling and likely to make expensive mistakes. 

From January 2020 through May 2021, New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) regulated companies reported in excess of 70 Ransomware attacks ranging from costly shutdowns to disruptions in business operations. Successful Ransomware attacks continue to escalate in total numbers and overall severity, with no sector safe from an attack. Government agencies, companies, educational institutions, and nonprofits are all targets. 

Cyber attacks are now a routine business risk, not an edge case. Recent industry reporting shows the global average cost of a data breach reached about $4.45 million dollars in 2023, a roughly 15% increase since 2020, with the United States averaging close to $9.5 million dollars per incident. At the same time, many organizations continue to underinvest in cybersecurity, often spending only a few hundred dollars a year on basic protections, while remaining attractive targets for attackers.