The call comes in at 6:47 AM on a Tuesday. Your project manager can’t access the scheduling system. The estimating team’s computers are displaying ransom demands. Your client portal is down, and three major clients are already calling. Your worst nightmare is unfolding—but are you prepared?
Cyber incidents are no longer a matter of “if” but “when.” The numbers don’t lie. Construction companies have become prime targets for cybercriminals, and the threat is escalating rapidly:
Construction was the most impacted industry by ransomware in 2023
Why Construction Companies Are Prime Targets
Understanding why our industry attracts cybercriminals is the first step in building better defenses:
Multiple Entry Points: Modern construction requires the use of multiple digital systems, software and communications devices spread across numerous jobsites and offices. Each connection represents a potential vulnerability.
Valuable Data: Construction firms store vast amounts of sensitive information—project specifications, financial data, client information, and vendor relationships—all attractive to bad actors.
Business Email Compromise (BEC): Attacks against the construction sector are most likely to be some form of business email compromise, with carefully crafted phishing lures designed to mirror document-signing programs.
Operational Pressure: The fast-paced nature of construction projects often means security takes a backseat to meeting deadlines. A fact cybercriminals exploit.
The stark reality is most firms aren’t prepared.
Perhaps the most alarming statistic isn’t about attacks, it’s about preparation. More than 77 percent of organizations do not have an incident response plan. Among the organizations that do have IR plans, only 32 percent describe their plans as “mature.” This preparation gap is costing the industry millions.
Enter the Game-Changer: Tabletop Exercises
Here’s where many construction firms miss a critical opportunity. Having an incident response plan sitting in a drawer isn’t enough, you need to test it. That’s where tabletop exercises become invaluable.
What Are Tabletop Exercises?
An incident response tabletop exercise (TTX) is an activity that involves testing the processes outlined in an incident response plan. Attack simulations are run to ensure incident response team members know their roles and responsibilities.
Think of it as a fire drill for cyberattacks, but instead of evacuating a building, you’re practicing how to save your business.
The Measurable Benefits
Tabletop exercises deliver quantifiable improvements to incident response:
Faster Decision Making: Tabletop exercises improve the amount of time it takes management and the response team to make decisions regarding the incident. Faster response times mean that the breach can be more quickly contained and neutralized.
Cost Savings: Organizations with high levels of incident response planning and testing saw a data breach cost savings of $1.49M.
Improved Coordination: The goal of the tabletop exercise is to improve both the incident response plan and the functioning of the teams, thereby strengthening the organization’s response to an incident.
Let’s paint a picture of how a tabletop exercise could save your business:
It’s Monday morning, and your project management software is displaying encryption warnings. Your estimating team can’t access historical data for a $50 million bid due tomorrow. Clients are calling because they can’t access the project portal, and your CFO just received an email demanding $500,000 in Bitcoin. This can go one of two ways:
Without a Tested Plan: Panic sets in. No one knows who to call first. The IT person is on vacation. Critical decisions are delayed while people argue about the next steps. Hours pass before anyone thinks to disconnect infected systems. By the time you regain control, the damage is extensive—lost clients, missed deadlines, and your reputation is potentially tarnished.
With a Tested Plan: Your team springs into action. The communications lead immediately notifies key stakeholders with pre-drafted messages. The technical team isolates infected systems using predetermined procedures. Your legal counsel is engaged within the first hour. Your backup systems come online, minimizing project disruptions. The entire response is coordinated, professional, and effective.
Organizations using threat intelligence services identified breaches 28 days faster, and organizations with extensive use of security AI and automation identified and contained a data breach 108 days faster and saw cost savings of nearly $2.2 million.
But perhaps more importantly, mapping out a business continuity plan is one of the most important steps a business can take to survive a cyberattack.
Your Next Steps
Construction firms can no longer afford to treat cybersecurity as an afterthought. The threats are real, growing, and specifically targeting our sector. But with proper preparation, including regular tabletop exercises, you can turn a potential business-ending crisis into a manageable incident.
Assess Your Current State: Do you have an incident response plan? When was it last updated?
Build Your Team: Identify key stakeholders and define their roles
Create Realistic Scenarios: Develop tabletop exercises based on construction-specific threats
Practice Regularly: Set up practice runs at least once a year, or when your company changes in big ways
Learn and Improve: Update your plan based on exercise findings
Remember, in cybersecurity, the only real protection is preparation. It’s a constant work-in-progress. Don’t wait until you’re staring at a ransom demand to discover the gaps in your response plan.
At Business Information Group, we’ve helped construction and manufacturing firms develop and test incident response plans tailored to industry realities. Our cybersecurity experts understand the unique challenges facing the construction industry and can help you build the resilience your business needs. Contact us today to discuss how we can help strengthen your cybersecurity posture and ensure your team is ready when every second counts.