Ethical Hacking News
Despite growing pressure from boards and cyber insurance carriers, many organizations remain woefully unprepared when it comes to responding to major cyber incidents. A recent report by Immersive highlights the stark disconnect between expressed confidence and actual performance in crisis-simulation drills.
The recent Cyber Workforce Benchmark report reveals that teams are struggling to demonstrate real-world readiness in the face of complex cyber threats. 94% of organizations believe they can effectively detect, respond to, and recover from major incidents, but their performance is actually dismal. Resilience scores have remained stagnant since 2023, with a median response time of 17 days. Most organizations are relying on outdated training scenarios that fail to address new attacker techniques. The industry is creating "false metrics" that mask real-world capability gaps. The root cause lies in the assumption that readiness can be achieved through mere completion of training exercises. The industry must shift its focus from confidence built on assumptions to readiness grounded in evidence.
The recent release of Immersive's latest Cyber Workforce Benchmark has shed light on a pressing concern that has been lurking beneath the surface of the cybersecurity industry for quite some time. The report, which draws from 1.8 million exercises and a survey of 500 cybersecurity leaders, paints a stark picture of an industry where teams are struggling to demonstrate real-world readiness in the face of increasingly complex cyber threats.
Despite the growing pressure from boards, cyber insurance carriers, and the very nature of the threat landscape itself, the vast majority of organizations still cling to the notion that they possess a higher degree of confidence and capability when it comes to detecting, responding to, and recovering from major incidents. According to Immersive's data, a staggering 94 percent of organizations believe they can effectively detect, respond to, and recover from such events.
However, this misplaced sense of self-assurance is starkly at odds with the dismal performance displayed by teams in controlled crisis-simulation drills. The report reveals that resilience scores have remained stagnant since 2023, with the median response time to complete critical cyber threat intelligence labs still languishing at an average of 17 days.
Moreover, it has been found that the majority of organizations are relying on outdated training scenarios, which leave them woefully over-prepared for yesterday's threats while failing to adequately address new attacker techniques. Furthermore, only 41 percent of organizations include non-technical roles in their cyber-response simulations, a stark discrepancy between the industry's expressed confidence and actual performance.
The problem is not merely one of inadequate preparation or insufficient training; it extends far deeper into the very fabric of how we approach cybersecurity readiness itself. The report highlights an alarming trend where industry habits have created "false metrics" that mask real-world capability gaps. For instance, only 46 percent use resilience scores as a metric for measuring preparedness, and a meager 42 percent track the number of simulations conducted.
The root cause of this issue lies in the widespread assumption that readiness can be achieved through mere completion of training exercises. However, as James Hadley, Immersive founder and chief innovation officer, astutely observes, "Readiness isn't a box to tick; it's a skill that's earned under pressure." The industry must therefore shift its focus from confidence built on assumptions to readiness grounded in evidence.
This is not merely a matter of semantics or pedantic technicalities. Rather, it speaks to a profound failure to recognize the ever-evolving nature of cyber threats and the importance of continuous learning and adaptation. Even the most seasoned teams must evolve as fast as the threats they face.
The Immersive report serves as a wake-up call for the cybersecurity industry, laying bare the stark disconnect between expressed confidence and actual performance. It is imperative that we re-examine our approach to readiness and prioritize the acquisition of real-world skills over mere theoretical knowledge.
As Hadley so eloquently puts it, "Experience teaches what to do next, until the next thing has never happened before." In an industry where complacency can be the greatest threat of all, this is a message that resonates deeply. It is time for us to confront the reality of our own limitations and embark on a journey of continuous learning and improvement.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/Unmasking-the-Reality-of-Cybersecurity-Readiness-The-Hidden-Truth-Behind-Overconfidence-ehn.shtml
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2025/11/17/immersive_cyber_resilience_report/
Published: Mon Nov 17 10:51:43 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
