Create a cross-functional team to protect against evolving cyber threats

​As restaurants adopt more technologies to boost efficiency and monitor how a host of equipment across their operation is functioning, they also, unfortunately, open new portals to cyber threat actors. Cyber attacks are becoming increasingly common for restaurant brands. As a result, being able to manage your cyber risk, internally and across your supply chain, is now a task for not just the IT department, but for every department across your business.
That can be an intimidating task at a time when cyber risk is evolving faster than the controls available to manage it. But in a recent webinar from Food Safety Magazine, Stuart Wright, head of governance, risk and compliance for the cybersecurity services firm Nettitude, put it this way: Start not with the technology you think you may need, but with the asset you are trying to protect. Your guest data, your food safety record, your supplier relationships – these business assets are best understood by people across different departments of your organization. Developing a cross-functional team, including but not limited to IT, can help you get the context you need to protect your assets before, during and after a cyber breach.
Cyber risk is a moving target and fortifying your protections requires regularly testing your operation’s ability to manage evolving threats. Each time you upgrade your systems, change suppliers, experience an environmental threat, alter other key aspects of how you conduct business, or learn about a competitor who has experienced a breach, test your potential business impacts and develop a dynamic playbook to guide your response. These tests can help your overall business recognize the warning signs of a cyber breach, understand the potential impacts of an attack, and identify new vulnerabilities to protect.

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