You’re Missing this from Your Incident Response (IR) Plan: A Zero Dollar Retainer from an IR Firm

You’re Missing this from your Incident Response (IR) Plan: A Zero Dollar Retainer from an IR Firm

Why do Businesses need a Zero Dollar Retainer with an Incident Response (IR) firm?

Imagine this: Sarah, a CEO, is enjoying her morning coffee when her phone buzzes. It’s her IT director with alarming news: “We’re under attack. Ransomware. Systems locked. What do we do?”

Sarah’s heart races. She’s heard about cyberattacks, but never imagined it would happen to her company. Now she’s in panic mode, with no plan and no experts to call.

In 2023, the average cost of a data breach was $4.45 million, according to IBM. [1] But what if there was a way to be prepared without spending a lot of money? That’s where a Zero Dollar Retainer comes in.

What’s a Zero Dollar Retainer?

Think of a Zero Dollar Retainer as your company’s cybersecurity safety net. It’s an agreement with a cyber emergency team that allows you to call them for help without paying upfront. It’s like having cyber firefighters ready to respond 24/7, 365 days a year. In a cyber emergency, every minute counts, and this can make all the difference.

Top 5 reasons a Zero Dollar Retainer is Crucial for Your Business:

Quick Action: When you’re under attack, time is of the essence. Statista reports that it typically takes companies three days to start recovering from a cyberattack. [6] With a retainer, you can act much faster.
Familiarity with Your System: The cyber team understands how your company works, so they can jump in and help quickly. According to the Palo Alto Networks blog post, having an incident response retainer in place allows organizations to prepare for cyberthreats and respond rapidly should a threat actor infiltrate secure data or systems. [7] You can have peace of mind and expert help without worrying about the cost right away.
Insurance Happy: Some cyber insurance companies prefer you have have a Zero Dollar Retainer in place, as it saves everyone money in the long run. Having an incident response plan including retaining an IR firm, demonstrates you are prepared.
Better Planning: In addition to responding to emergencies, your team of experts can help you create a comprehensive cybersecurity plan before a crisis hits. Many firms offer preventative services, like checking your system for problems before an attack happens.
Improved Legal Outcomes: Data breaches expose you to all sorts of legal risks including class actions and regulatory fines. If you are involved in a breach, you could be vulnerable to class action and other legal consequences.

According to Baker Hostetler, a leading cyber security law firm says,

“We are often asked about incident response retainers with a primary forensic firm. When responding to an incident, conducting a forensic investigation is often the first item on the critical path (because facts drive decision making and legal advice). Having a forensic firm on retainer allows you to more quickly engage them, which in turn allows the forensic firm to more quickly obtain and interpret facts that allow counsel to develop a legal strategy and give legal advice.” [9]

One Thing to Watch Out For:

While Zero Dollar Retainers are incredibly valuable, keep in mind that the cyber response team may be assisting other clients during widespread attacks. This could potentially delay your service.

Engaging the firm for additional services or putting money down for a retainer may get you to the front of the line during a widespread cyber crisis.

According to the Ponemon Institute, only 35 out of 100 companies have this kind of agreement with cyber experts. [8]

Now imagine the scenario above where Sarah finds that her system has been compromised, but this time she’s already contracted with an IR firm. With the IR plan and team in place, she just has one call to make to begin taking back control of the company’s systems.

Take Action Today

Get a Zero Dollar Retainer now. It’s a small step that can make a big difference when your business need help fast.

C3 has partnered with experienced cyber security and incident response firms. They have Zero Dollar retainers in place with hundreds of organizations already, offering a Zero Dollar Retainer. What are you waiting for?