How Much Would Downtime Really Cost Your Business?
Power outages, severe weather, cyber incidents, and supply chain disruptions are becoming more frequent — and more costly. Yet many organizations still rely on assumptions like:
- “We could manage a few days offline.”
- “We’ll call vendors if something happens.”
- “Our generator should be enough.”
This toolkit helps you move beyond assumptions by quantifying the real financial, operational, and reputational costs of downtime — so you can make informed preparedness decisions before an interruption occurs.
What You’ll Learn
By completing this toolkit, you will be able to:
- Calculate the direct and indirect costs of downtime specific to your organization
- Identify where interruption risk is underestimated
- Understand how recovery speed and resource availability affect total loss
- Evaluate common gaps in power, fuel, and recovery planning
- Build a clearer business case for proactive resilience planning
What’s Included in the Toolkit
This downloadable PDF includes:
- ✔ Step-by-step downtime cost worksheets
- ✔ Revenue, labor, operational, and indirect loss calculators
- ✔ A recovery speed and resource availability reality check
- ✔ Generator ownership vs. backup coverage considerations
- ✔ An interruption risk maturity self-assessment
- ✔ Key insights applicable across industries
No spreadsheets. No jargon. Just practical guidance you can apply immediately.
Ransomware attacks can halt operations, expose sensitive data, and create regulatory risk across any industry. This checklist delivers clear, actionable steps to help you prepare, detect threats early, and respond with confidence. Built for IT, risk, compliance, and operations teams, it supports faster decisions, stronger recovery, and business continuity when it matters most. Download now and be ready before an attack hits.
When a ransomware attack is actively unfolding, every decision matters—and every minute counts. Systems may already be encrypted, sensitive data at risk of exfiltration, and business operations grinding to a halt, leaving leadership teams under intense pressure to act quickly and correctly. In these moments, organizations that follow a disciplined, proven response approach are far better positioned to contain damage, protect evidence, and accelerate recovery. Drawing from real-world incident response guidance, this article outlines ten critical actions businesses should take during an active ransomware attack to stabilize the situation, avoid costly missteps, and set the foundation for effective remediation and recovery.
1. Don’t Panic
To call an attack stressful is a major understatement but it’s also no time to panic. Do your best to remain calm and rely on your preparations and team to proceed quickly and efficiently.
2. Let Your Incident Response Plan Be Your Guide
This plan is home to the critical information you and your IT team will need when you experience a security incident. Be sure that this plan is updated frequently and tested at least annually to be sure you don’t encounter any costly barriers to action. While this plan is certainly stored online, it’s wise to also have it printed out on paper so it’s accessible when your network is down or inaccessible.
3. Open Communication with Trusted Advisors
If you have a response and recovery partner like Agility, that should be your first call so that team can begin triage right away. Follow-up calls should include insurance brokers, your insurance claims team, legal counsel, etc.
4. Isolate Backups
Be sure your backups are offline or physically offsite to isolate and prevent attackers’ access.
5. Disconnect Servers and Devices from Your Network
When an attacker is stealing data from your network in real-time, cutting off the internet and disconnecting devices from each other halts the hacker’s efforts.
Cyber Breach Response & Recovery with Agility
6. Do Not Engage the Threat Actor
Attempting to decrypt ransomed data or negotiate with the threat actor on your own could result in costly mistakes and a greater ransom. Instead, contact response and recovery experts like Agility Recovery. Skilled negotiations can reduce your ransom payment by as much as 64%. Even better, up to 70% of businesses who utilize professional negotiation services report a zero-payout resolution to their incident.
Be Ready for a Ransomware Attack
7. Document What Your Can with Screenshots, Photos, Etc.
Things to document include ransom notes/file extensions, reviewed logs, and software conveying the state of the environment.
8. Preserve Evidence
- Do not turn off devices
- Do not attempt to wipe, re-image, or restore from backup without consultation
- Failure to preserve evidence will prevent the ability to conduct a complete investigation
9. Change Your Passwords
This includes:
- Administrator accounts and all cloud accounts
- VPN/Remote connectivity software
- Firewall
10. Identify Where Sensitive Information is Stored
Know the host name of this device, review your backups for this information. Consult with your legal team before you inform employees, clients, etc., of the attack.
In today’s digital age, no organization is immune to the threat of cyberattacks. Securing the right cyber insurance coverage is crucial to protecting your business from the financial and operational fallout of a data breach.
Our guide breaks down the complexities of cyber insurance, offering a step-by-step approach to understanding policy requirements, assessing your organization’s risk profile, and ensuring you have the coverage you need. Whether you’re new to cyber insurance or looking to optimize an existing policy, this resource is your key to making informed decisions.
In today’s digitally connected world, cyber threats are a constant and growing concern for businesses.
As organizations increasingly rely on technology for daily operations, they expose themselves to various cyber risks, from data breaches to ransomware attacks. Building cyber resilience means preparing for these inevitable threats by developing the capacity to detect, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents without significant disruption to operations. This guide provides businesses with actionable steps to enhance their cyber resilience, ensuring that they can maintain their operations, safeguard their data, and protect their reputation.
In sectors like healthcare, insurance, legal, and financial services, managing sensitive information comes with big responsibilities.
Cybersecurity isn’t just about protecting data—it’s about preserving trust and ensuring operational continuity. This checklist guides organizations through establishing robust cybersecurity practices that safeguard operations and comply with regulatory standards.
Banks and credit unions are entrusted with highly sensitive information, making them prime targets for cyberattacks.
The unique challenges faced by financial institutions require a tailored cybersecurity approach that not only addresses regulatory compliance but also ensures the safety and integrity of customer data. This checklist is designed to help banks and credit unions build a robust cybersecurity framework that protects both their operations and their customers.
Download our cybersecurity tabletop exercise to plan, prepare, and test your preparedness plan.
Cyberattacks on enterprises are up 500% between 2021 and 2020, costing businesses $11.5 billion. A cyberattack can easily take down entire networks, compromising information security, revenue, and reputation. Use this tabletop exercise to ensure everyone in your organization is prepared to respond in case of a ransomware or other type of cyberattack.
Our Cybersecurity Checklist will help you check for any signs that may lead to a data breach or a cyberattack at your organization. It will also outline preventative measures to safeguard your operations.
Overview
Establishing proper cybersecurity policies and protecting your business and its promise is every leader's priority, along with ensuring the wellbeing of the people. The number of disruptions affecting businesses is rising , with cyber risks having an upward trend. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on how many organizations do business, with many people working from home and increased demand for video conferencing, cloud applications, and network resources. The speed, connectivity, and wide range of benefits make the cyber world a must for any business; however, as the cyber community develops, so do the risks of working with today's technology. That being the case, it's essential to make sure you know the latest trends, risks, and threats to your cyber safety heading into a new year.
Recent Insights
Surprisingly, plans on how to deploy a cybersecurity strategy haven’t been a priority for companies around the globe not so long ago. In 2017, the phrase “ransomware attack” was trending like never before . On May 12th, 2017, WannaCrypt ransomware attack made headlines all over the world. Starting in Europe, the malware quickly spread across the globe, demanding users’ money for the return of seized data. Using exploits stolen from the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), hackers hit more than 200,000 machines worldwide, affecting different industries and organizations of all sizes. Just a few weeks later, a new cyberattack took a swing at companies’ data worldwide, completely wiping it from hard drives.
In today’s fast-paced digital world, cyber resilience is vital to keeping your business running smoothly.
Watch our on-demand webinar for an in-depth dive into the essential cybersecurity strategies you need to build, test, and execute a robust cyber resilience plan. Discover how to harness the power of artificial intelligence—just like hackers do—to proactively pinpoint vulnerabilities in your system.