The recent wave of cyberattacks on Cyprus’s infrastructure – from the Hermes Airport website to the Bank of Cyprus and electricity grid – shows that even politically motivated hackers can disrupt critical services. Fortunately, robust defenses contained the October 2024 attacks without major outages.
What’s more, Communications Commissioner George Michaelides warned that full preparedness is impossible: instead, “what is important is to be ready, if you have been attacked, to recover as quickly as possible, i.e. restore your service quickly and recover your data.”. This “recover quickly” mantra highlights a shift in mindset.
Rather than relying solely on static continuity procedures, Cyprus organizations – especially SMEs – now need a cyber resilience plan that makes rapid recovery and adaptation a strategic priority. Embedding flexible, tested recovery processes and continuous improvement into security posture is essential when targeted by sophisticated, politically-driven threats. The new NIS2 directives further emphasize the importance of such resilience.
Over the past year Cyprus has faced multiple cyber assaults (often with political motives) on key services like airports, banks and utilities. Experts warn these incidents show espionage-style targeting, not mere crime. In this climate, authorities stress resilience: Andreas Konstantinidis (Odyssey Cybersecurity) urged shifting “from simple defense to cyber resilience, ensuring continuity even if systems are compromised”.
Commissioner Michaelides echoed this urgency: no one can claim to be perfectly safe, so businesses must focus on minimizing downtime and data loss when breaches occur. In practice this means Cyprus SMEs – despite limited IT resources – must treat fast recovery and adaptive defense as top priorities, not afterthoughts. After all, if operations halt and data is lost, the financial and reputational damage can be existential. Research shows small firms are especially vulnerable: up to 60% of SMEs close within six months of a major cyber incident. In short, resilience (the ability to bounce back) is the only surefire hedge against these emerging threats – and it extends beyond the checklist of a traditional business continuity plan.
Business Continuity vs. Cyber Resilience: Complementary but Different
It helps to clarify terminology. Business Continuity planning typically means having procedures, backups and failover systems in place to keep critical operations running during a disruption (power outage, flood or even a cyber incident). These plans are process-driven: inventory your assets, define recovery steps, and train staff on standard operating procedures. By contrast, Cyber Resilience is a broader, strategic mindset built around anticipating and adapting to cyber threats, not just reacting to them. Resilience still uses continuity measures (like backup servers and drills), but adds layers of agility and continuous improvement – evolving defenses after each incident, investing in advanced detection, and embedding flexibility into corporate culture.
The NIS2 directive is crucial for SMEs, as it outlines enhanced cybersecurity measures and obligations that organizations must adopt to protect against cyber threats.
In other words, business continuity ensures you can continue business functions if something goes wrong; resilience asks how to come back stronger even if the unexpected happens.
Asha Labs summarizes it succinctly: business continuity handles all types of disruptions with risk assessments and planning to uphold services, whereas cyber resilience specifically tackles IT threats (breaches, ransomware) and crucially learns from them to prevent repeats.
Splunk similarly notes that continuity plans are largely process-driven, whereas true resilience is a strategic, organization-wide approach to changing conditions. Resilience programs therefore go beyond static playbooks: they involve regular threat modeling, stress-testing, and leadership commitment to adapt under pressure.
In practice, a resilient SME doesn’t just have a backup generator – it has a tested recovery plan, a security operations team (even outsourced), and a culture of vigilance that keeps improving.
Why SMEs Need Strategic Resilience Now
For Cyprus’s SMEs, the rationale is urgent and two-fold: threat intensity and resource risk. On the first point, attacks once aimed at national infrastructure now spill over to smaller targets. Even if hackers want to “send a message” by hitting the airport or electric grid, the fallout touches thousands of subcontractors, suppliers and local businesses.
Cybercriminals routinely exploit weak links – and SMEs often have them. In fact, studies show over 40% of global cyberattacks hit companies with fewer than 1,000 employees, and many small firms struggle to survive the damage. With over a third of breaches involving insiders or simple misconfigurations, Cyprus SMEs (like those in SaaS, fintech or professional services) face rising peril from both external groups and accidental exposures.
Second, SMEs simply have less margin for error. A large bank or telco might absorb a temporary site outage; a small shop or local software company may lose customers forever if systems stay down. The financial stakes are material: IBM’s 2025 Data Breach Report finds the average breach cost is now about $4.4 million globally. Even if an SME’s breach costs are lower in absolute terms, the relative impact can be catastrophic.
The same IBM study highlights that organizations which use AI-driven security can save on average $1.9 million in breach costs through faster detection and containment. In contrast, companies lacking modern defenses – or unprepared by design – suffer longer outages, higher fines and lasting damage.
Crucially, the report underscores that nearly 97% of firms have fallen victim to an AI-related incident without proper controls. This signals that shadow IT and ungoverned tools are new chinks in the armor.
For Cyprus SMEs, these findings translate to hard decisions. Every day without multi-layered monitoring, modern endpoint defenses, tested incident response, and quick restoration protocols is a gamble. A ransomware hit could mean weeks of downtime; a data leak could trigger costly regulatory audits (especially with GDPR and NIS2 in play). As one analysis warns, recovering from a breach is “a multi-dimensional crisis” that can destroy business value. The key takeaway: survival depends on resilience, not just hope that continuity plans alone will save you. And resilience requires up-front investment in people, processes and technology – the very things SMEs tend to skimp on without clear motivation.
Building a Cyber Resilience Plan: Core Components
A cyber resilience plan weaves together preventive measures, rapid detection, and swift recovery. While details vary by industry and risk, every SME should consider these core elements:
- Risk Assessment & Asset Inventory: Identify what matters most – from customer data to production machines – and what threats you face. Under EU NIS2 rules, even indirectly affected firms will soon need to understand their role in critical supply chains. Create an asset map and supplier map to know what must be protected or restored first. For example, is the cloud CRM system more critical than the office Wi-Fi? Knowing this guides your priorities.
- Preventative Controls: Deploy fundamental security layers: up-to-date firewalls and endpoint detection (to stop known threats), multi-factor authentication and encryption (to protect accounts and data), and strict access controls (to segment networks). These create a strong baseline so disruptions are less likely. The typical SME toolkit – antivirus and passwords – is no longer enough. Continuous vulnerability scanning and patching should be routine, as ACE Networks advises for all Cyprus businesses.
- 24/7 Monitoring and Incident Response: Resilience hinges on seeing attacks early. Many SMEs partner with Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services so security experts watch logs, alerts, and anomalies around the clock. An effective plan names roles and external contacts (e.g. a security firm) to act immediately. These services enable faster containment – exactly what helped Cyprus firms repel the LulzSec Black attacks with minimal damage.
- Regular Backups and Disaster Recovery (DR): Ensuring that data and systems can be restored quickly is non-negotiable. This means secure backups (ideally offline or immutable) tested frequently. For instance, keeping recent copies of databases off-site and practicing a switch-over to backup servers can cut downtime to hours instead of weeks. Modern cloud solutions make this easier: ACE Networks’ cloud services can spin up new instances rapidly for continuity.
- Testing and Exercises: A plan is only as good as its rehearsal. Conducting tabletop drills, simulating ransomware attacks, or bringing in a red team (pen testers) helps expose gaps. For SMEs, even a quarterly review where the CEO and IT manager run through a mock breach response can reveal flaws in communication or technical processes. Some enterprises also use “purple team” exercises or Threat-Led Pen Testing (TLPT) to ensure resilience against specific scenarios – techniques that Cyprus’s critical-sector firms will increasingly adopt.
- Communication Plan: During a crisis, clear lines of communication are vital. Document who notifies employees, customers or regulators and how. Under NIS2, certain incidents must be reported promptly to authorities. Fast, transparent updates to stakeholders can save reputation even amid disruption. In line with Commissioner Michaelides’ advice, the ability to rapidly restore service also depends on coordinated action by IT teams and executives.
NIS2 and Regulatory Drivers
EU regulators are reinforcing the need for cyber resilience. Cyprus has transposed the NIS2 Directive, widening its scope and tightening obligations.
In practice, this means many mid-size operators (in sectors like healthcare, energy, ICT, finance) must have formal risk management and incident-reporting procedures – which are, at their core, resilience measures. As ACE Networks explains, NIS2 introduces “stronger obligations for critical sectors” and “new reporting requirements for security incidents”.
Even SMEs outside the official scope will feel the effects: supply-chain rules pressure every business to prove it can withstand disruptions, and partners may demand audit-ready resilience evidence. Aligning with standards like ISO/IEC 27001 is a smart step. ISO 27001 certification (or preparation) forces an SME to document controls and plans – from access policies to backup schedules – effectively providing a template for resilience. In short, regulators are moving from “you must try to be secure” to “you must demonstrate the ability to survive incidents”.
Where Business Continuity Ends and Resilience Begins
Many SMEs already have some business continuity processes (e.g. offsite backups, basic failover plans). But resilience requires raising the bar. Continuity is often static – “if X fails, then we do Y”—and may assume an event is one-off. True resilience expects the unexpected. For example:
- Mindset Shift: Don’t just plan to turn on a backup server; plan for a situation where backups were compromised or the outage lasts days. This might mean having alternative vendors on standby (e.g. a second data center), or even flexible work arrangements if systems are down.
- Continuous Improvement: After any incident or near-miss, adapt. If a phishing email gets through, update your training and filters. If a system took too long to restore in a drill, invest in faster infrastructure or cloud redundancy. Resilience is a cycle of “plan–test–learn–improve” rather than a one-time checklist.
- Culture and Leadership: Business continuity plans can become dusty manuals unless leadership stays engaged. Embedding resilience means executives prioritize cybersecurity investment and regularly review plans. A study finds that effective resilience “requires principles and mechanisms [to be] cascaded across the operational model, resourced appropriately and monitored for effectiveness”. In short, resilience starts at the top.
Consider a boardroom session comparing “continuity vs resilience”. Continuity might say, “In a power outage, we use the generator.” Resilience asks, “What if the generator fails or the facility floods too?” Then the strategy expands: perhaps cloud-hosted apps continue, communications shift to cell networks, and a different site takes critical calls. This strategic layer is the essence of resilience. Crucially, it matches the Commissioner’s advice: no one can be perfectly prepared for every attack, so resilience assumes breaches will happen and focuses on minimizing impact.
How to Implement Resilience: Services and Solutions
Building cyber resilience need not fall entirely on the SME’s in-house staff. Outsourcing to specialists can accelerate readiness. ACE Networks offers a portfolio of IT services that map directly to resilience needs:
- Managed Security (MDR/SOC): ACE Network’s cybersecurity services provide 24/7 monitoring and threat response. Their proactive approach “guarantees your information remains secure”. By detecting intrusions early, they can contain attacks before they spread – shrinking recovery time. They also handle patch management and vulnerability management, plugging gaps that attackers exploit.
- Incident Response Planning and Testing: We can help document IR playbooks and simulate attacks. For example, coordinating penetration tests (CREST-certified pen tests, red-teaming exercises) reveals blind spots in both technology and process. SMEs get expert guidance on remediating issues before a crisis hits.
- Managed IT Services: Day-to-day IT support and maintenance (servers, networks, user devices) is offloaded to ACE’s team. Their services “handle everything from routine maintenance and monitoring to troubleshooting complex issues”. This means systems are kept updated and resilient by design, reducing the chances of failures and ensuring faster problem resolution during an incident.
- Cloud Solutions & Backup: ACE Networks helps identify and integrate cloud platforms (public or private) into the IT environment for enhanced redundancy. Cloud infrastructure brings agility: in an outage, workloads can shift to secondary regions. Automated cloud backup and disaster recovery as a service ensure data can be restored even if on-premises systems are down.
- Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS): This model keeps hardware and software current without large upfront costs. For resilience, TaaS means SMEs always run on supported, modern tech. It also allows rapid scaling of resources (e.g. spinning up additional servers or devices) to respond to surges in demand post-incident. Flexible access to tools ensures no time is lost waiting for procurement.
- Unified Communications: During disruptions, clear communication is crucial. ACE’s unified communications solutions (VoIP, video conferencing, messaging) streamline communication channels, ensuring teams stay connected even if some services fail. If an on-site email server is down, for example, staff can still coordinate via cloud chat/phone so business doesn’t grind to a halt.
ACE’s role is to tailor these solutions for each customer’s context. They emphasize a collaborative approach, working with your team to understand unique challenges. In practice, implementing resilience might look like: ACE installing a Security Operations Center (SOC) tool, configuring automated backups to the cloud, training staff on response procedures, and regularly auditing compliance. Each step is documented – so that if regulators ask for NIS2 or ISO27001 evidence, the SME can show “audit-ready” controls.
Key Elements of a Resilience Plan
To summarize, a strong resilience plan for a Cyprus SME should include:
- Clear Ownership and Governance: Assign a cyber resilience leader (CISO/IT manager) and engage executives. Define who decides to invoke the incident plan.
- Up-to-Date Risk Register: Map threats (like DDoS, ransomware, supply-chain compromise) to assets (customer data, production servers). Update it as new risks (e.g. AI-driven attacks) emerge.
- Technical Safeguards: Ensure next-gen firewalls, endpoint detection & response (EDR), email security and MFA are in place everywhere. Don’t forget offsite backups with integrity checks. Use encryption on all sensitive data, at rest and in transit.
- Continuous Monitoring: Implement SIEM/MDR for real-time alerts. Regularly review logs and alarms. Use automated tools (AI/automation) to speed up detection – IBM found firms using AI in security detected breaches faster and saved millions.
- Incident Response Playbook: Write down step-by-step actions (isolate systems, notify authorities, switch to backups). Keep contact lists (IT vendors, legal counsel) at hand. Practice this plan in drills.
- Backup and Recovery Testing: Schedule frequent restores from backups to verify they work. Consider geo-redundancy (e.g. data stored in multiple regions). Plan alternative work arrangements (e.g. remote work, mobile phones) so staff aren’t idle during IT outages.
- Vendor and Supply Chain Resilience: Assess critical suppliers (cloud providers, software vendors). Ensure they also have strong continuity arrangements. Diversify where possible so an outage at one vendor (or a fuel shortage affecting delivery) doesn’t break your chain.
- Staff Training and Awareness: Employees are the first line of defense and also the first line to recovery. Conduct regular phishing simulations and incident drills. Train staff on who to call and what to do if they suspect a breach.
Each of these elements should be updated at least annually (or whenever your business changes). Under NIS2, documentation and evidence of these processes will soon be mandatory, so treating them as ongoing efforts is wise.
Conclusion
The cyber landscape is moving rapidly, and Cyprus SMEs cannot afford to lag behind. Business continuity planning – while still important – is no longer enough by itself. Recent politically driven attacks have shown that threats are becoming more complex and relentless. The key lesson from Cyprus’s authorities is clear: you must be ready not just to withstand an attack, but to bounce back faster than your adversary expected.
Building cyber resilience is an investment in your company’s future. It means formalizing your incident response, leveraging technology like MDR and cloud services, and embedding a security mindset across your organization. ACE Networks stands ready to help Cyprus businesses on this journey – from conducting a NIS2 gap assessment to deploying Managed SOC services, cloud backup and recovery, and even ISO 27001 readiness guidance. By partnering with experts to implement and test these safeguards, SMEs can close their gaps and meet the evolving demands of regulators and customers alike.
In the end, being resilient is about certainty in uncertainty. It’s knowing that even if a cyberattack strikes at dawn, your data is safe, your systems will be restored, and your team will know exactly what to do. As Commissioner Michaelides put it, complete security is a myth, but preparedness is what stands between a minor incident and a major crisis. For Cyprus’s SMEs, the time to build that preparedness is now – before the next wave of attacks tests your defenses.