Governance & Risk Management , IT Risk Management

How to Make Your Incident Response Playbook More Effective

Kerissa Varma of Vodacom on Her Cybersecurity Priorities for 2022
Kerissa Varma, managing executive, cybersecurity at Vodacom

Kerissa Varma, managing executive, cybersecurity at Vodacom, a South African-based mobile communications company, says simulation is the key to a good incident response plan.

See Also: From Data to Decisions: Maximizing Operational Efficiency Through IT-OT Integration

Varma describes the importance of simulation by telling of when her red team conducted red teaming in her organization without her being aware of it. "The blue team was in a panic, and we invoked incident responses processes. We ran it all through the environment and did the entire spectrum of our playbooks as if it was real," she says. "I could feel the pressure, and it weeds out things that a normal simulation will not do."

In a video interview with Information Security Media Group, Varma also discusses:

  • How Log4J affected her organization;
  • The ingredients of a good incident response plan;
  • Her priorities aside from Zero Trust.

Varma is the managing executive for cybersecurity at Vodacom, a South African-based mobile communications company. Previously, she was the group CISO of Old Mutual Ltd., which is one of the largest financial services organizations on the African continent with a vast footprint across 13 African markets.


About the Author

Suparna Goswami

Suparna Goswami

Associate Editor, ISMG

Goswami has more than 10 years of experience in the field of journalism. She has covered a variety of beats including global macro economy, fintech, startups and other business trends. Before joining ISMG, she contributed for Forbes Asia, where she wrote about the Indian startup ecosystem. She has also worked with UK-based International Finance Magazine and leading Indian newspapers, such as DNA and Times of India.




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