Sanjay K Mohindroo
A Strategic Imperative in the Age of Digital Vulnerability
Senior leaders: Is your ransomware response plan boardroom-ready? Discover the strategic checklist every CIO, CTO, and CEO must own.
Why Preparedness Isn’t Optional Anymore
In today’s digital battlefield, ransomware is not just malware—it’s a mirror reflecting the strength or fragility of your organization’s entire operating model. As a technology leader who’s seen both the chaos of unpreparedness and the calm of anticipation, I can tell you this: ransomware preparedness must evolve beyond IT silos and become a boardroom imperative. This post isn’t a guide. It’s a conversation starter, born from the trenches of real leadership challenges, to help senior leaders shift from reactive defense to proactive resilience.
Let’s step beyond toolkits and firewalls—and into the mindset, strategy, and leadership required to truly future-proof an enterprise.
From Technical Threat to Business Catastrophe
What happens when a ransomware attack paralyzes your systems? Business stops. Revenue stalls. Customers flee. Reputations crumble. And sometimes, the boardroom turns its eyes, too late, toward the CIO or CTO. But here’s the truth: Ransomware is no longer an IT issue. It’s a business continuity risk. It’s brand equity. It’s shareholder value.
According to a 2024 IBM report, the average cost of a ransomware breach now stands at $5.13 million. And 62% of victims pay the ransom, often without recovering their data. Why? Because response plans were outdated, backups weren’t tested, and decisions weren’t rehearsed at the executive level.
This isn’t just about system downtime—it’s about lost investor trust, SEC inquiries, regulatory penalties, and irreparable public perception. Every ransomware attack is also a test of leadership, resilience, and decision-making under pressure.
Boardrooms must start treating ransomware resilience the same way they treat financial solvency and compliance—with structured oversight, dedicated budgets, and C-suite accountability. #CyberResilience #DigitalLeadership #CIOPriorities
Ransomware Has Evolved. Have Your Response?
Today’s ransomware landscape is not the crude, mass-email threat it once was. It’s now:
Human-operated: Threat actors tailor attacks, often dwelling for weeks undetected in systems.
Double-extortion: Not just data encryption, data theft and exposure on dark web forums.
Targeted by vertical: Healthcare, manufacturing, and government sectors are prime targets, due to legacy systems and the urgency of uptime.
Powered by RaaS (Ransomware-as-a-Service): Non-technical criminals can now buy ransomware kits, making attacks more frequent and unpredictable.
➡ Key stats:
· 78% of large enterprises faced at least one ransomware attack in the past year.
· Only 27% had a board-approved ransomware response plan.
· Less than 15% simulate attacks involving senior leadership. (Source: PwC Cyber Threats Outlook 2025)
This gap between threat evolution and boardroom preparation is where the real danger lies. #EmergingTechnologyStrategy #DataDrivenDecisions #DigitalTransformationLeadership
What the Fire Taught Me About Fireproofing
Recovery is a leadership exercise, not just a technical one. When we were hit with a ransomware attempt at a previous company, our systems held up. But the real trial wasn’t technical—it was how we communicated. The board wanted answers. The legal team needed clarity. PR needed facts. And employees needed reassurance. Preparedness isn’t just about backups—it’s about scripts, stakeholders, and speed.
Cyber insurance won’t save you from accountability. I’ve sat through discussions where leaders treated insurance as a safety net. But no policy can restore lost trust. Worse, insurers now demand proof of robust cybersecurity before approving claims. Leaders must stop seeing insurance as Plan B—it’s part of the puzzle, not the whole picture.
The ‘security team’ mindset must die. Security is no longer a department—it’s a culture. From finance teams that process phishing emails to engineers who patch vulnerabilities, everyone is a stakeholder. When we turned cybersecurity into an enterprise-wide KPI, breach attempts fell, employee reporting rose, and our audit scores improved.
#LeadershipInCyber #ExecutiveLessons #DigitalTrust
Your Ransomware Readiness Checklist
Here’s a simplified, actionable model I’ve used across multiple organisations to assess ransomware preparedness at the leadership level:
The “5S Ransomware Readiness Model”
The organisation’s ransomware preparedness can be evaluated across five key pillars. First, under Strategy, it is crucial to have a board-endorsed ransomware strategy that aligns with the company’s business continuity plans, a responsibility typically overseen by the CIO or CEO. For Systems, critical assets must be backed up, segmented, and regularly tested for recovery, falling under the purview of the CTO and CISO. The Simulations pillar highlights the importance of conducting ransomware tabletop exercises with the executive team at least once in the past six months, a task led by the COO and CISO. In terms of Staff, employees must be trained to identify and escalate phishing attempts, which is managed by the CHRO and CISO. Lastly, Stakeholders must be considered, with predefined communication plans for media, customers, regulators, and investors—a responsibility shared by the CMO and CFO.
Bonus Tool: Use a ransomware readiness heatmap to score each department quarterly. Red = lagging. Yellow = partially compliant. Green = audit-ready.
This isn’t just a checklist. It’s a cultural signal. When executives start asking these questions, it tells the organization: “Cyber preparedness is strategic, not optional.”
#ITOperatingModel #BoardroomCyberChecklist
Stories That Stuck with Me
The Global Manufacturer Who Paid the Price:
A billion-dollar manufacturer in Europe paid nearly $11M in ransom after a single employee clicked on a spoofed invoice. Their systems were down for 19 days. No tabletop drills had been done. Insurance denied coverage due to poor cyber hygiene. The CIO resigned.
The Healthcare System That Fought Back:
A hospital network in Asia invested in early detection AI tools, redundant backups, and quarterly boardroom drills. When attacked, they restored systems in 6 hours with zero ransom paid. Their CEO went public about the experience, earning industry praise for transparency.
These stories underscore a harsh reality: preparedness can either save your job or cost you the company. #RansomwareStories #HealthcareCyberSecurity #ManufacturingRisks
From Reactive to Resilient: The Next Cyber Frontier
Ransomware will get smarter. Attacks will become more psychological, mimicking trusted voices and even using AI to outpace human detection. But so can we—if we lead with intent.
Boards must establish ransomware oversight committees. CIOs and CISOs should present quarterly readiness reports, just like financials. Tabletop simulations should be as routine as fire drills. And most importantly, cyber risk must be embedded in enterprise risk frameworks.
This is the new leadership agenda. Not for the IT team. For the entire C-suite.
Let this post be your first step—or your next one. Start the conversation with your teams today. Ransomware doesn’t wait for readiness.
And remember:
Preparedness is the most strategic investment your enterprise can make this decade.