Cyber recovery plans weren't designed for this moment. Most were built around a set of assumptions that made sense when they were written. The scope of an incident could be understood. Dependencies could be mapped. Recovery could follow a predictable sequence. Decision-makers would have enough information to make the right calls at the right time.
In theory, those assumptions create order. In practice, major cyber incidents tend to unravel them. Every recovery plan is a bet. It reflects deliberate choices about what organizations believe will remain true when systems fail, and pressure mounts. The challenge is that today's threat environment increasingly tests those beliefs.
AI and autonomous agents are creating new paths to compromise, while cloud and SaaS expansion continues to increase the number of systems, services, and dependencies involved in recovery. Vulnerabilities are discovered and weaponized faster than ever, and emerging AI capabilities are accelerating that cycle further. As incidents unfold, scope expands; dependencies appear only when they break, and the sequence laid out in the plan no longer matches the reality of the attack.
With assumptions under greater strain, confidence is beginning to erode. This year, the percentage of survey respondents reporting complete confidence in their cyber resilience strategy fell.
To better understand how recovery unfolds in today's threat environment, Cohesity commissioned independent research firm Vanson Bourne, to survey 3,200 IT and security decision-makers at organizations with 1,000 or more employees across 11 countries.
This report examines where recovery efforts become more difficult than expected, the obstacles organizations encounter during response and recovery, how they are defining and testing a Minimum Viable Company (MVC), and how AI is reshaping both cyber threats and cyber resilience.
https://www.cohesity.com/dm/global-cyber-resilience-report/
This segment is sponsored by Cohesity. Visit https://securityweekly.com/cohesity to learn more about them!
- 0:00 - — Introduction to Cohesity and Cyber Resilience
- 01:30 - — How AI Is Changing Cyber Risk
- 03:57 - — AI Agents and Persistent Threats
- 04:43 - — Why Cyber Resilience Plans Fail
- 06:58 - — The Problem With System-Focused Recovery
- 10:48 - — Building a Minimum Viable Organization
- 13:57 - — Why Recovery Dependencies Get Missed
- 15:28 - — The Expanding Attack Surface
- 17:39 - — Quantifying the Cost of Downtime
- 19:55 - — Automating Recovery With Humans in the Loop
- 24:04 - — AI Is Missing From Recovery Plans
- 26:09 - — The Risk of Rogue AI Agents
- 29:07 - — Three Steps to Improve Cyber Resilience
- 31:49 - — Where to Find the Research
Rob Sadowski is Vice President of Product and Solutions Marketing at Cohesity, bringing deep experience across cybersecurity, cloud, and enterprise technology. Prior to Cohesity, he spent eight years at Google Cloud, most recently serving as Director of Product Marketing for Trust and Security, where he led the team responsible for Google Cloud’s security messaging across platforms, applications, and AI.
Previously, Rob held senior strategy and marketing roles at RSA Security, joining as part of the team that helped launch EMC Corporation’s Security division. He is a former member of the PCI Security Standards Council Board of Advisors and has provided cybersecurity commentary to global media outlets including CNN, the Financial Times, Fox Business, and CNBC. His expertise spans security thought leadership, analyst relations, product positioning, and go-to-market strategy.
A native Bostonian, Rob is an avid sports fan and New England Patriots supporter. Outside of work, he enjoys music, cooking, dining, and golf.
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