Have you taken a look at our monthly compilations of cyber attacks, data breaches and ransomware attacks from 2024? If you so much as glance through them, you’ll know exactly how daunting the evolution of the cyber threat landscape has been in the past year. Cyber security should be a top priority for businesses of all sizes in 2025. And Cyber Drills are a critical tool in building robust cyber defences. 

A well-planned cyber drill—also referred to as a cyber attack drill, cyber security drill, or cyber drill exercise—is more than a simple checkbox; it’s a strategic imperative. In this article, we explore the top five compelling reasons why you should run a cyber drill in 2025.

1. Strengthen Your Cyber Incident Response Plan

Your cyber incident response plan is only as good as its last test. Conducting a cyber security drill helps test the effectiveness of your plan. It also validates your team’s response procedures and capabilities in real-time. By simulating a realistic cyber security drill scenario, you can:

• Help your team truly comprehend the extent of damage a cyber attack can cause to your business. 

• Identify existing vulnerabilities in your network infrastructure and security protocols without disruption to your operations.

• Make your team more conversant with the Incident Response Plan such that it becomes a part of their muscle memory. 

• Sharpen your crisis response strategy and the skills of your team in a safe, controlled environment.

• Evaluate team readiness for an attack under the pressure of a simulated crisis.

Regularly practising a cyber attack drill ensures that when a real incident occurs, your team reacts promptly and effectively.

2. Mitigate Financial and Reputational Damage

Data breaches and ransomware attacks can cost organisations millions in damages and legal fees, not to mention loss of customer trust. A cyber drill exercise can help your organisation:

• Reduce downtime: Faster containment and recovery minimise disruption to operations. It is possible to achieve this through regular response rehearsals by way of cyber drills. 

• Safeguard brand reputation: Swift and confident responses reassure stakeholders. Cyber attack drills ensure that you are ready with well-thought out and pre-approved responses to crisis situations. 

• Lower risk of breach escalation: Identifying vulnerabilities and patching them promptly cuts the risk of large-scale compromises.

Research indicates that the sooner an organisation can detect and contain a breach, the lower the overall financial impact. Running frequent cyber security drills can be the difference between a quick resolution and a brand-damaging headline.

3. Comply with Regulatory Requirements

With evolving regulations—from GDPR in Europe to CCPA in California—governments worldwide are setting stricter guidelines for data handling and breach notifications. In fact, the EU DORA that comes into force this January, specifically calls for regular Digital Operation Testing for ensuring business continuity of financial entitis. Scenario-based testing is one of the mandates of DORA. 

Implementing a cyber security drill aligns with regulatory best practices by:

• Demonstrating due diligence and proactive compliance.

• Providing documentation of routine safety checks and drills.

• Ensuring readiness to meet mandatory breach reporting deadlines.

Regulators and auditing bodies increasingly look for proof that organisations can detect, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents swiftly. Many now specifically mandate scenario-based testing to demonstrate a commitment to cybersecurity. A robust cyber drill showcases your compliance apart from actually making your cybersecurity posture stronger. 

4. Foster a Culture of Cyber Awareness

People are your first line of defence. A cyber security drill should involve a diverse set of participants. At CM-Alliance, we always recommend involving HR, legal, operations, Corporate Communications and PR in your cyber drill exercises. We also have three separate Cyber Drills, each targeted at different participant groups for a more in-depth exercise. These include the Executive Cyber Drill, Technical Cyber Drill and Operational Cyber Drill.  

In essence, employees at all levels must be involved in cyber drills to heighten their awareness and accountability. By including phishing simulations, tabletop exercises, and in-depth training, staff not only becomes more aware of their individual roles and responsibilities. There’s also better inter-departmental collaboration in the event of an attack. 

Cyber Drills promote a sense of shared responsibility for cyber resilience which is critical in the era of remote work and cloud reliance. 

5. Adapt to Evolving Threats with Agility

Cybercriminals are constantly innovating with new tactics, from AI-driven attacks to sophisticated phishing campaigns. You can study past cyber attack timelines and build your cyber drill scenarios based on emerging tactics. 

Such cyber drill exercise examples can be found in our comprehensive Cyber Tabletop Exercise Scenarios document. By leveraging these as well as your own understanding of your current threat context, you can ensure your security measures and processes keep pace with the latest attack vectors. 

Using relevant cyber drill scenarios create a compelling simulated attack situation. They bring out realistic responses from your team. They also uncover hidden weak points in newly adopted technologies or services, enabling quick adjustments to security policies and defensive tools.

In a rapidly shifting digital environment, staying agile is critical. A cyber security drill example that simulates real-world attack scenarios will reveal how quickly your organisation can adapt to modern threats. And you can work to plug the gaps that become apparent through a well-crafted cyber security drill.