Experience report: First Check

We put our new product, First Check, through its paces with one of our existing partners. You can read about their experiences below. This much in advance: the check completely fulfils our expectations and those of our partners. This means that the First Check can be booked by all interested parties.

As a reminder: the First Check shows you how well prepared your company is for a cyberattack.

For data protection reasons, we are not disclosing the name of the company or the contact person at this point.

What expectations did you have of the First Check in advance, or what did you hope to gain from it? Were these fulfilled?

Expectations always harbour the risk of being disappointed. That's why we like to approach such situations with an open mind. What's more, we haven't carried out a test of this kind in our company in the past, so we wouldn't have been able to draw on any experience for comparison.

How did you find the general organisation of the check and the effort involved for you?

We found the implementation of the check via our personal advisor at suresecure to be well organised. We were well guided through the catalogue of questions in a joint discussion. The effort on our part was very relaxed and manageable, as we only had to answer questions.

Were the questions easy for you to answer in terms of content?

I carried out the First Check together with one of my colleagues, but I think it would have been possible for me to answer the questions on my own. For other colleagues who don't have a detailed overview of IT, for example, I can imagine that some of the questions could be a challenge. We also had to submit the answers to some questions about the status of certain documentation, but this had no impact on the result of the check.

Were there any questions that you didn't expect?

As we have already had a security incident in our company in recent years, we were already familiar with the various processes and their content, which the check's catalogue of questions is based on.

What did you expect from the final report? Were your expectations met?

The reporting was kept short and concise - broken down to the essentials, so to speak. I thought it was exactly the right length and it shouldn't be more pages. In my opinion, the motivation to read long reports is often rather limited, as it simply takes up a lot of time from general day-to-day business. Personally, I find it much more pleasant to read a short report during my daily working hours that manages to summarise all the key points clearly and concisely.

In your opinion, what is the added value? Do you see an individual benefit behind the First Check and the reporting?

Any way! The First Check allows you to clearly recognise where you stand, what you have and what you don't have yet. You get a good overview of what you can and should work on. I can hardly imagine that anyone has prepared all the points 100%, as many may not even be able to assess what is actually important. Whether you carry out the review in the form of a check or on your own is another matter. But I definitely think it makes sense to get a regular overview.

Were the recommended measures feasible for you?

Partly. Some measures were very easy and quick for us to implement, others less so. For example, we simply don't have the manpower to analyse all log data 24/7. In my opinion, every company should define and set its priorities and try to orientate itself on these. After all, not every question will have the same relevance for every company, as certain areas and processes can simply have different meanings. This is where theory and practice often diverge widely.

How would you rate your current level of preparation?

I would rate our current level of preparation as very good. In theory, on paper, we probably aren't, but in practice we certainly are. This is partly due to our many years of professional experience, but also due to regular checks.

Are you curious to find out how well prepared your company actually is for a security incident? Then simply contact us and arrange an appointment!

Field report: First Check