Internal chaos after a cyberattack causes more damage than the attack itself
A new survey from cybersecurity incident response management (CIRM) specialist Cytactic finds 70 percent of cybersecurity leaders say internal misalignment following a cyberattack caused them more chaos than the threat actor itself, leaving many organizations paralyzed by breakdowns in authority, coordination, and clarity.
The report also finds that while 73 percent of leaders describe their response plans as ‘technically comprehensive,’ many admit those plans collapse under real-world pressure. In addition, 86 percent say ‘translation time’ between legal, communications, and technical teams causes costly delays, underlining that breaches are often derailed more by internal breakdowns than by attackers.
Leadership is an issue, with 73 percent having experienced CISO-CEO tension during incident response, adding stress to an already chaotic environment. 54 percent say decision ownership shifted mid-incident, creating delays, while 41 percent delayed critical actions because no one knew who had final authority.
In addition 67 percent say fragmented or complex tools slowed their response. 93 percent believe AI-powered assistance could have prevented at least one major error, and 95 percent are planning AI simulation investments to improve readiness.
“To move from this chaotic reality to strategic incident response management, organizations must embrace disruptive, AI-powered technologies to minimize damage when cyber incidents strike,” says Nimrod Kozlovski, founder and CEO of Cytactic. “The report makes it clear: preparing before and executing well at the time of an incident is critical to lessening the brand and financial damage of a cyber attack. With the vast majority of security leaders citing internal chaos due to lack of authority, clarity, and coordination under pressure, causing more chaos than the threat actor itself, the need for structured, well-orchestrated tools is undeniable.”
When asked what they would change to improve their readiness to deal with breaches, real-time AI-generated decision guidance is cited by 65 percent, 52 percent want more frequent, realistic simulations, 47 percent want faster legal and communications alignment, and 46 percent would like to see seamless cross-functional coordination.
The full report is available from the Cytactic site.
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