Description

This curriculum spans the design, implementation, and governance of cyber attack resilience measures within an ISO 27001 framework, comparable in scope to a multi-phase internal capability program that integrates risk management, technical controls, third-party oversight, and organizational change across functions such as IT, legal, and executive leadership.

Module 1: Aligning Cyber Attack Preparedness with ISO 27001 Context of the Organization

Define the scope of the ISMS to explicitly include third-party cloud environments hosting critical data, ensuring attack surfaces are not excluded due to outsourcing.
Document cyber attack scenarios specific to the organization’s industry (e.g., ransomware in healthcare, supply chain compromises in manufacturing) as part of risk assessment inputs.
Identify internal and external stakeholders who must be consulted when defining cyber incident response roles, including legal, PR, and executive leadership.
Establish criteria for determining which business processes are in scope based on sensitivity, availability requirements, and historical attack patterns.
Integrate threat intelligence feeds into the context analysis to reflect evolving adversary tactics relevant to the organization’s digital footprint.
Document regulatory obligations related to breach notification timelines and incorporate them into incident response planning.
Conduct a gap analysis between current cyber resilience capabilities and ISO 27001:2022 requirements for organizational context.
Formalize the process for updating the context of the organization annually or after major infrastructure changes, such as M&A activity.

Module 2: Risk Assessment Methodology for Cyber Attack Scenarios

Select and justify a risk assessment methodology (e.g., qualitative vs. quantitative) based on data availability, organizational risk appetite, and management expectations.
Define asset valuation criteria that reflect business impact of compromise, not just replacement cost, to prioritize protection of high-risk systems.
Incorporate threat actor profiles (e.g., financially motivated, APTs) into threat modeling to tailor likelihood assessments.
Map known vulnerabilities in the environment to MITRE ATT&CK techniques to improve realism in scenario development.
Set thresholds for risk acceptance that require executive sign-off when potential impact exceeds predefined financial or reputational limits.
Update risk treatment plans quarterly or after significant cyber events, including near-misses and phishing simulations.
Ensure risk assessment outputs include attack vectors such as phishing, misconfigurations, and zero-day exploits relevant to the organization’s stack.
Validate risk scenarios with red team findings or penetration test results to avoid theoretical or generic assumptions.

Module 3: Designing Controls to Mitigate Specific Cyber Attack Vectors

Implement and configure ISO 27001 Annex A controls such as A.8.16 (Monitoring) to detect lateral movement and data exfiltration in real time.
Enforce multi-factor authentication for all privileged accounts as a baseline control, aligned with A.9.4.4, and document exceptions with risk acceptance.
Apply segmentation controls (A.13.1.2) to isolate critical systems, reducing blast radius during ransomware propagation.
Configure logging levels for key systems to meet A.12.4.1 requirements, ensuring logs capture authentication attempts, file changes, and command execution.
Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools with centralized management to satisfy A.12.6.1 and enable rapid containment.
Establish secure configuration baselines for servers and workstations, referencing CIS benchmarks, to meet A.8.9 requirements.
Implement email filtering and URL rewriting to mitigate phishing attacks, aligning with A.13.2.1 and A.13.2.3.
Define retention periods for security logs based on legal requirements and forensic investigation needs, per A.12.4.3.

Module 4: Incident Response Planning Under ISO 27001 Framework

Develop an incident response plan that designates roles (e.g., incident commander, communications lead) and integrates with business continuity processes.
Define escalation paths for cyber incidents, including criteria for involving external agencies such as CERT or law enforcement.
Conduct tabletop exercises simulating ransomware, DDoS, and insider threat scenarios to validate response procedures annually.
Integrate IR plan with SIEM alerting workflows to ensure automated triggering of initial response actions.
Establish communication templates for internal stakeholders, regulators, and customers to ensure consistent messaging during an attack.
Define criteria for declaring an incident resolved, including eradication verification and post-mortem requirements.
Ensure IR plan includes forensic data preservation procedures compliant with legal and regulatory standards.
Maintain an up-to-date contact list for IR team members, external vendors, and legal counsel, with secure offsite access.

Module 5: Third-Party Risk Management in the Context of Cyber Attacks

Require vendors with system access to provide evidence of their own incident response capabilities and breach notification SLAs.
Conduct security assessments of critical suppliers using ISO 27001-aligned questionnaires, focusing on patch management and access controls.
Include contractual clauses mandating notification within 24 hours of a suspected or confirmed breach affecting shared data.
Map third-party services to critical business processes to prioritize monitoring and due diligence efforts.
Perform annual audits of high-risk vendors or require third-party audit reports (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001 certification).
Implement network-level controls such as API gateways and reverse proxies to limit vendor access to only necessary systems.
Monitor vendor IP addresses and domains for inclusion in threat intelligence blocklists as part of continuous monitoring.
Establish a process for rapidly de-provisioning vendor access during a supply chain attack, such as a compromised software update.

Module 6: Security Awareness and Phishing Resilience Programs

Develop role-based training content that addresses phishing, social engineering, and secure handling of sensitive data for finance, HR, and IT staff.
Conduct simulated phishing campaigns quarterly and track click-through rates by department to target remedial training.
Integrate phishing reporting mechanisms into email clients to enable one-click reporting, aligned with A.6.2.2.
Measure training effectiveness using metrics such as reduced incident reporting time and fewer successful spear-phishing attempts.
Update training materials biannually to reflect current attack trends, such as QR code phishing or voice cloning.
Require mandatory refresher training after employees fall for simulated attacks, with documentation in HR records.
Engage senior leadership in delivering security messages to reinforce cultural importance and reduce employee skepticism.
Ensure training content complies with accessibility standards and is available in multiple languages for global workforces.

Module 7: Continuous Monitoring and Threat Detection Integration

Configure SIEM correlation rules to detect anomalous behavior such as after-hours logins, bulk data transfers, and failed privilege escalation.
Integrate threat intelligence platforms with firewalls and EDR systems to automatically block known malicious IPs and hashes.
Define thresholds for alert severity and assign response ownership to specific team members to prevent alert fatigue.
Implement network traffic analysis tools to detect command-and-control communications indicative of malware presence.
Conduct weekly reviews of high-priority alerts to validate detection efficacy and tune false positive rates.
Ensure monitoring coverage includes cloud workloads, SaaS applications, and remote endpoints used by hybrid workers.
Log all privileged user activity and conduct monthly reviews for deviations from baseline behavior.
Validate monitoring controls during internal audits by testing detection of controlled, simulated attack patterns.

Module 8: Management Review and Performance Measurement of Cyber Defenses

Present incident metrics such as mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR) at quarterly management reviews.
Track control effectiveness using KPIs such as patch compliance rate, phishing click rate, and unremediated high-risk vulnerabilities.
Report on audit findings related to cyber attack preparedness, including open non-conformities and remediation timelines.
Review changes in threat landscape and adjust risk treatment plans based on management-approved risk appetite.
Document decisions on resource allocation for security tools or staffing based on demonstrated attack trends and risk exposure.
Ensure top management reviews results of penetration tests and red team exercises to validate defense readiness.
Assess adequacy of incident response training and exercise outcomes during management review meetings.
Maintain records of management review decisions related to cyber risk treatment for ISO 27001 audit purposes.

Module 9: Internal Audit and Compliance Validation for Attack Readiness

Develop audit checklists that verify implementation of controls specifically designed to prevent or detect cyber attacks.
Conduct unannounced phishing tests as part of audit fieldwork to assess real-world employee resilience.
Sample incident response logs to verify that declared incidents followed documented procedures and escalation paths.
Validate that risk treatment plans include mitigation actions for top cyber threats identified in the latest risk assessment.
Review change management records to ensure security impact assessments were performed before deploying critical updates.
Verify that third-party contracts include required cybersecurity clauses and that compliance is monitored.
Assess whether security awareness training completion rates meet organizational targets and are enforced.
Report audit findings with specific references to ISO 27001 clauses and recommended corrective actions with deadlines.

Module 10: Continual Improvement Based on Cyber Attack Lessons Learned

Conduct post-incident reviews within 14 days of resolving a cyber incident to identify control gaps and process failures.
Update risk assessments to reflect new vulnerabilities or attack techniques observed during real or simulated incidents.
Revise incident response playbooks based on findings from tabletop exercises or actual event responses.
Implement automated patch deployment workflows in response to delays identified during vulnerability exploitation.
Adjust security awareness content based on employee behavior trends observed during phishing simulations.
Enhance monitoring rules to detect previously missed attack patterns, such as living-off-the-land binaries (LOLBins).
Initiate capital funding requests for tooling upgrades when manual processes prove insufficient during attack response.
Document and track improvement actions in a register with assigned owners and closure dates to ensure accountability.