Industry: Financial Services
Service: Professional Services
Location: Americas
Organization Type: Private
Employees: 51-200
Dedicated IT Staff: 2
Needs And Requirements:
The client required a comprehensive review and validation of its IT Security Incident Response Plan (IRP) to ensure alignment with industry-recognized best practices, including NIST 800-b. The organization needed confirmation that its IRP clearly defined objectives, adequately represented cybersecurity and data protection requirements, and was accessible and understood by all relevant stakeholders. In addition, the client sought to strengthen its overall resilience by conducting realistic cybersecurity tabletop exercises to evaluate its ability to respond effectively to potential security incidents.
Main Challenges:
Outdated and fragmented response planning: The existing IT Security Incident Response Plan lacked alignment with industry best practices (NIST 800-b), leaving potential gaps in preparedness and execution.
Limited stakeholder awareness and role clarity: Many stakeholders were not fully familiar with their responsibilities in the event of a cyber incident, creating risks of delayed or ineffective responses.
Unproven incident response capabilities: The organization had not conducted realistic, scenario-driven exercises to validate its ability to respond to cyber threats, leaving uncertainty about escalation procedures and coordination effectiveness.
Solution:
Cyber Resilience & Incident Response: Hitachi Cyber conducted a comprehensive review and gap analysis of the client’s existing Incident Response Plan, alongside related IT service policies, Business Continuity, and Disaster Recovery frameworks. This ensured that cybersecurity objectives were clearly defined, compliance requirements were addressed, and all policies were cohesive and relevant. The plan was updated, validated, and formally reviewed with stakeholders, followed by structured sensitization sessions to confirm clarity of roles and responsibilities.
Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC): To further reinforce operational readiness, Hitachi Cyber designed and executed tailored tabletop exercises. Two realistic scenarios were developed in collaboration with stakeholders, reflecting threats relevant to the organization. These exercises tested notification, escalation, and response mechanisms while providing a safe environment to identify inefficiencies and improvement opportunities. A Lessons Learned report was produced, delivering actionable recommendations and prioritized remediation steps, ensuring continuous improvement in governance and operational resilience.
Outcomes:
The engagement delivered a fully validated, best-practice-aligned Incident Response Plan and significantly strengthened the organization’s ability to respond to cybersecurity threats. Stakeholders gained clarity on their responsibilities, escalation procedures were tested and refined, and the organization established a culture of preparedness supported by governance and operational excellence.
Next Steps:
Building on this success, the client will integrate the recommendations into ongoing governance processes, update training and awareness initiatives, and schedule regular tabletop exercises. This ensures that the Incident Response Plan remains a living document, continuously tested, refined, and adapted to the evolving cyber threat landscape.
