What is Cyber Resiliency and Why Does it Matter in 2025?

Cyberthreats are evolving faster than ever, with attackers using new tools and tactics to target businesses of all sizes. From advanced ransomware campaigns to the growing use of artificial intelligence to bypass defenses and create more convincing phishing attacks, the risks are becoming more complex and disruptive.

Traditional cybersecurity alone cannot guarantee protection, which is why organizations need to focus on a more holistic cyber resiliency strategy to guard against key threats like data exfiltration and double extortion ransomware.

This approach extends beyond defense to emphasize adaptability, continuity and recovery. For firms in 2025, developing true resiliency means not only blocking risks early, but being ready to absorb the impact of an attack, maintain critical operations and protect the trust of customers and stakeholders.

Cyber resiliency is the ability of an organization to adapt to, withstand and recover from cyberthreats with minimal damage to their operations, data and reputation. It’s a key part of data security management and recognizes that no defense is foolproof. Instead, it takes the position that attacks are inevitable in a world where ransomware, phishing and supply chain compromises are constant.

The goal is not only to block intrusions but also to ensure that when an incident does occur, the business can continue to operate with as little disruption as possible.

“In 2025, cyber resiliency isn’t just about detecting threats, it’s about neutralizing the true endgame: data theft. Attackers today understand that stealing data is more damaging than disruption alone, which is why exfiltration has become central to their strategy.

“With over 95 percent of ransomware attacks now exfiltrating data, building true cyber resilience means ensuring that even when networks are penetrated, attackers walk away empty handed. Organizations must have anti data exfiltration technology in place to prevent valuable data from leaving. Without that, recovery is far more difficult, and trust is harder to rebuild.”

• Dr Darren Williams, Founder and CEO, BlackFog.

While cybersecurity focuses on preventing attacks through tools such as firewalls, antivirus software and access controls, cyber resiliency takes a broader, more strategic view. It includes preparedness for disruption, business continuity planning, rapid recovery and maintaining core functions even during a breach. In short, security is about stopping problems, while resiliency is about managing them when they happen.

Resiliency matters because prevention alone is not enough in today’s threat landscape. For example, according to Hiscox’s Cyber Readiness Report 2024, two-thirds of organizations worldwide (67 percent) experienced at least one cyberattack in the past year, up from 53 percent the year before. What’s more, UK government data shows that 67 percent of medium-sized businesses and 74 percent of large businesses reported breaches in the last year.

These figures show how widespread breaches are, even when frontline defenses are in place. Therefore, businesses must plan for continuity and recovery as well as prevention.

A cyberattack can inflict more than data loss: it disrupts operations, damages brand reputation and exposes firms to regulatory fines and legal costs. Here are three recent, real‑world cases from 2025 that highlight the wide range of disruptions and costs businesses may face:

• UK retailer Marks & Spencer suffered a ransomware attack that resulted in widespread online and warehouse disruption in April. This caused critical operations to be unavailable for several weeks, resulting in an estimated £300 million loss.
• South Korean communications provider SK Telecom had almost 27 million pieces of user data stolen in a hack, which led it to slash its annual revenue forecast by 800 billion won ( $600 million) and pledge over 700 billion won to improve its data security.
• A ransomware attack on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase incurred up to $400 million in expenses, including lost business, legal costs and reputational damage, as well as reimbursing customers who had crypto assets stolen as a result of the breach.

Cyber resiliency is not a single tool or process, but a framework built on three interconnected pillars. Together, these enable businesses to prepare for threats, provide effective data leakage protection, contain damage and restore normal operations quickly.

Prevention is the first line of defense and remains the most cost-effective way to reduce exposure. This means building strong security foundations through timely patching, encryption and identity management. Access controls also limit who can reach sensitive data, while employee awareness programs reduce risks from phishing or human error. Finally, regular vulnerability testing and red-team exercises identify weaknesses before attackers can exploit them.

While prevention cannot guarantee total safety, it creates a hardened environment that reduces the likelihood of compromise and gives organizations the confidence that their defenses can withstand the majority of modern threats.

Even the best defenses cannot block every attempt. Cyber resiliency depends on quickly spotting suspicious activity and responding in real-time. Detection combines constant network monitoring, behavioral analytics and automated threat intelligence to flag anomalies that suggest an intrusion. It should work across the entire network, from spotting unusual database access attempts to monitoring endpoints for unauthorized data exfiltration.

Once an alert is raised, response planning ensures security teams know exactly how to act once a breach occurs. This includes isolating affected systems, containing the threat and communicating across the business. A strong detection and response capability transforms an incident from a crisis into a manageable event, limiting disruption and preventing a small breach from escalating into widespread operational damage.

The final pillar of resiliency accepts that some attacks will succeed despite preparation. Recovery and continuity strategies aim to reduce the fallout and restore operations rapidly. Secure, regularly-tested backups ensure critical data is available without paying ransoms or facing long delays. Fallback systems and disaster recovery plans also keep core functions online while remediation takes place.

Recovery also includes coordinated communication with stakeholders, customers and regulators to maintain trust. By planning for worst-case scenarios, organizations can minimize downtime, protect revenue streams and continue serving customers even in the face of ransomware or large-scale disruption.

Cyber resiliency is not achieved overnight, nor is it a one-time effort – it requires ongoing attention. By taking structured steps, firms can build strategies that not only defend against threats but also ensure operations continue even when disruption occurs.

• Assessing risk and identifying critical assets: The first step is understanding where your greatest vulnerabilities lie. A thorough risk assessment maps potential threats against critical business assets such as customer data, intellectual property and financial systems. This ensures resources are focused on protecting the assets that matter most.
• Adopting an effective security framework: Frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, or zero trust provide proven structures for managing security. Adopting one ensures consistency, accountability and alignment with industry standards. A clear framework guides investment and offers benchmarks for measuring progress.
• Aligning technology with people: Resiliency demands more than just technology. Data governance policies, regular employee training and a culture of security awareness ensure that people are part of the solution rather than a vulnerability. This is especially important in guarding against threats like infostealers that use social engineering and phishing techniques to compromise valuable login credentials.

Deploying the right technologies to strengthen defenses, reduce risk and speed up recovery is an essential part of building cyber resiliency. The following tools play a central role in ensuring that businesses can withstand modern cyberthreats and minimize disruption.

Immutable backups ensure that critical data cannot be altered or deleted by attackers. Unlike traditional backups, immutability locks files in a write-once, read-many state, protecting them from ransomware encryption or tampering. This is particularly important in today’s environment, as backups themselves often become a target for ransomware groups in order to make it harder to restore data and increase the pressure on firms to pay.

Cyber vaults add an extra layer by isolating backups from the production environment, reducing exposure if the network is compromised. Together, they provide a reliable foundation for recovery, giving organizations confidence that they can restore clean data quickly and avoid paying ransoms to regain access to critical information.

AI-driven threats, from prompt injection to data poisoning, are a major risk in today’s landscape. But the technology can also be used defensively to identify and contain cyberthreats. AI-driven tools play a vital role in data loss prevention by analyzing patterns of behavior across networks and endpoints to spot anomalies that human teams might miss. By learning from vast datasets, these systems can detect new or evolving threats in real-time.

Automated response functions then isolate compromised devices or accounts, preventing escalation. This combination of speed, scale and intelligence helps security teams act before damage spreads. AI not only reduces reliance on manual monitoring but also strengthens resiliency by shortening the time between intrusion and containment.

Recovery planning tools help organizations test and execute their response to worst-case scenarios. These platforms simulate outages, validate backup processes and coordinate incident playbooks across teams. By rehearsing recovery, businesses can ensure that critical systems are restored in hours rather than weeks.

Modern tools also automate the failover to backup infrastructure and provide dashboards for real-time tracking of progress. This structured approach reduces uncertainty, improves coordination and builds confidence that recovery plans will work when they are needed most. Effective planning tools transform a theoretical strategy into a practical capability.

In the context of cyber resiliency, maturity refers to how advanced an organization’s capabilities are in preventing, responding to and recovering from cyber incidents. Higher maturity levels reflect stronger, more integrated practices that reduce risk and improve performance. By understanding where they stand, firms can identify gaps and take targeted steps to strengthen resiliency over time. The key stages of maturity are:

• Reactive: At this stage, security measures are basic and responses to incidents are ad hoc. Organizations often rely on manual intervention after an attack has already caused disruption, leading to longer downtime and higher costs.
• Proactive: Firms begin to implement structured security policies, conduct regular monitoring and develop formal incident response plans. Threats are identified and contained faster, reducing the scale of impact and improving operational continuity.
• Predictive: The most advanced level leverages analytics, automation and threat intelligence to anticipate and address risks before they occur. Organizations can adapt quickly, minimizing disruption and maintaining a strong competitive advantage.

Cyber resiliency is achieved by moving beyond prevention to create a culture and strategy that prepares for disruption and ensures fast recovery. Every organization can strengthen its position with practical steps that improve protection, response and continuity. Here are six key practices firms should be undertaking to achieve this.

• Conduct a full risk assessment to identify critical systems and data.
• Map existing capabilities against a recognized security framework.
• Invest in immutable backups and test them regularly.
• Implement continuous monitoring and real-time threat detection.
• Develop and rehearse incident response and recovery playbooks.
• Provide regular employee training to build a culture of awareness and accountability.

By following these steps, businesses can create a foundation that supports long-term resiliency, minimizes downtime and protects customer trust.