E097 - The Art of Tabletop Exercises

Recorded live at RSAC 2026, this episode explores the importance of risk management, tabletop exercises, and incident response planning. Learn how to prepare your team for real-world scenarios and improve your organization's resilience through structured communication events.

Project Zero Trust: https://www.amazon.com/Project-Zero-Trust-Strategy-Aligning/dp/1119884845/ref=asc_df_1119884845 

Chapters
00:00 Looking Ahead: Insights from RSA Conference
00:37 Understanding Risk Management
02:54 Scenario-based Planning
05:21 The Frequency and Variability of Tabletop Exercises
06:46 Planning for Cyber Attacks
11:13 Team Communication Exercises
16:55 Annual Exercises
17:35 The Role of Non-Technical Teams in Incidents
19:09 Creating Actionable Improvement Plans
20:21 The Importance of In-person Table Top Exercises
22:42 Personal Experiences with Tabletop Exercises
24:28 Tabletop Exercises as Training
26:36 Learnings From Project Zero Trust
27:47 Planning for Future Security Tests
28:50 Outro