The number of companies subject to cyberattacks continues to grow, but the amount of information shared by those companies as to the nature of the attack, what was stolen, and how the incident was detected or resolved continues to remain limited, as companies remain reluctant to share details of their perceived failures. Writing for the Harvard Business Review, Marc Barrachin, managing director of new product development at S&P Global Market Intelligence and Algirde Pipakaite, project lead for industry solutions at the World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity argue this needs to change, with companies sharing details of attacks and breaches in a standardized format.
It is the position of Barrachin and Pipakaite that this anonymous sharing of information will assist companies in preparing for and detecting patterns in attacks, while also helping to establish best practices for responding to specific events, or to evaluate techniques against new or emerging types of attacks. Based on initial evaluations, their recommendations state any standardized reporting on cyberevents should include:
- Dates associated with the incident, including occurrence, detection, and reporting
- Type of incident
- Magnitude of the incident, with respect to financial costs or impact on operations
- Type of impact
- Method of attack
- Method and cost of resolution
Additional details could include information about the organization, including industry type, company size, or area of geographic operations, to help other companies identify whether they may be subject to a similar attack.
Source: https://hbr.org/2019/11/we-need-a-global-standard-for-reporting-cyber-attacks
