Scenario Crafting 101: Mastering the Art of Cybersecurity Tabletop Scenarios

Tabletop exercises are an indispensable instrument to improve an organization's resilience against cyber threats. These scenario-driven activities provide a realistic context in which participants can sharpen their decision-making and response skills to navigate the complexities of cyber incidents. However, designing an effective exercise can be daunting, requiring meticulous planning to create an engaging learning experience. This session will dive into how exercise practitioners can effectively design compelling tabletop exercise scenarios focused on cybersecurity risks and threats. We will discuss the methodology planners can use to create and scope realistic cybersecurity scenarios to meet their exercise needs. By the end of this session, attendees will be able to take scenario ideas back to their respective organizations and apply them to create their own cybersecurity exercises that test and validate their crisis response capabilities.

Jean-Pascal Deillon is an emergency management and homeland security professional working at the intersection of cybersecurity and crisis management. For nearly a decade, Mr. Deillon designed training and exercise programs on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security for local and state governments, financial services firms, healthcare entities, institutions of higher education, transportation authorities, and utilities. Today, he heads Pascal Cyber Solutions, a consulting firm dedicated to helping companies and their executive teams develop their cyber incident response readiness and test their crisis response capabilities. He is also an adjunct cybersecurity instructor for Texas A&M University's Engineering Extension Service, better known as TEEX, delivering cybersecurity training for government entities and critical infrastructure across the country.