13 min read
By: RedLegg Blog
A documented incident response (IR) plan is often treated like a security milestone. It's the sign that an organization has “done the work” to prepare for threats. But ask any responder, and they’ll tell you: when the breach hits, the plan rarely goes exactly as expected.
That’s why more organizations are turning to tabletop exercises, a structured yet low-stakes way to rehearse incident response, uncover operational gaps, and strengthen real-world readiness. These exercises are no longer just a checkbox for compliance or a quarterly obligation for IT; they're becoming an essential part of broader business continuity strategies.
In today’s threat landscape, the difference between a 5-day outage and a 15-minute containment often comes down to team coordination, not just technology.
Key takeaway: You don’t need to wait for a real breach to see if your team is prepared. Tabletop exercises simulate the scenario before the crisis becomes real.
Related: How Often Should You Test Your Incident Response Plan?
What Is a Tabletop Exercise, Really?
At its core, a tabletop exercise (TTX) is a discussion-based simulation of a cybersecurity incident. It brings together key stakeholders, IT, security, legal, compliance, and leadership, to walk through the decisions and actions they’d take during a real event.
Unlike red teaming or live-fire simulations, tabletops emphasize:
-
Cross-team communication
-
Role clarity
-
Gap discovery
-
Process validation
As explained by AlertMedia, “Tabletop exercises are one of the most effective and low-cost methods to improve your organization’s response to disruptive events.”
These exercises force teams to ask critical questions:
-
Who leads the response?
-
When do we notify execs or customers?
-
What happens if logs are missing?
-
Are backups accessible and restorable?
Going Beyond Ransomware: Scenarios That Matter in 2025
While ransomware is often the go-to tabletop theme, forward-looking teams are exploring a wider range of real-world threats. Scenarios can (and should) reflect your unique environment, infrastructure, and regulatory concerns.
Consider testing:
-
Business Email Compromise (BEC) targeting finance or HR
-
Vendor or SaaS platform compromise
-
Insider threat during offboarding
-
MFA bypass in federated identity system
-
Misconfigured cloud permissions causing a data leak
Related: Real-World Tabletop Scenarios: What to Simulate (and Why)
These aren’t just theoretical risks, they’re showing up in real incident reports across industries.
What Makes a Tabletop Effective?
A good tabletop isn't just a long meeting with PowerPoint slides. It should feel like a rehearsal, grounded in realism, but structured for reflection.
Key elements of an effective tabletop:
-
Realistic timeline with injected events (e.g., “The CEO is unreachable.”)
-
Clearly assigned roles based on actual responsibilities
-
Facilitated reflection at key decision points
-
Custom scenarios relevant to your tech stack and business operations
As CSO Online highlights, "Tabletop exercises provide a safe environment to stress-test the processes and decision-making dynamics of your response team."
Why Tabletop Exercises Are Essential for Business Continuity
Business continuity isn’t just about keeping the lights on; it’s about minimizing disruption and accelerating recovery when something goes wrong.
While traditional BCPs focus on infrastructure, backup systems, and recovery timelines, tabletop exercises test the human side of the equation. They ensure everyone, from executives to security analysts, knows their role and can act when it matters most.
💡 Example: During a tabletop, the team realizes legal approval is required before breach disclosure, but there’s no legal contact in the IR plan. That delay could mean hours of lost time and reputational damage.
Tabletop exercises help validate that people, process, and documentation align under real stress, not just perfect conditions.
Learn how our Advisory Services guide organizations through compliance readiness, tabletop design, and business continuity planning.
After the Tabletop: Lessons You Can’t Fake
You don’t need to “pass” a tabletop. In fact, the best sessions often expose friction points.
Some common gaps uncovered during tabletop sessions:
-
Communication delays between security, legal, and leadership
-
Unclear authority paths: Who can approve containment?
-
Tool access problems: Can responders access critical systems?
-
Third-party gaps: Who notifies the vendor if they’re involved?
These aren’t always technical weaknesses; they’re operational vulnerabilities. And in a real incident, they could delay detection, response, and reporting by hours or days.
The most valuable outcome of a tabletop is the actionable punch list it generates. Don’t just say “great job”, walk away with a clear improvement plan.
From Scenario to Strategy
Tabletop exercises are only useful if the insights flow back into your broader security program.
Here’s how to turn a one-hour simulation into long-term resilience:
-
Update your IR plans, playbooks, and contact lists
-
Clarify decision-making roles and escalation paths
-
Add key findings to your risk register or audit roadmap
-
Use insights to train teams and justify budget priorities
Tabletops aren’t about perfection. They’re about turning theoretical response into muscle memory.
Ready to Put Your Plan to the Test?
Whether you're aiming to meet evolving requirements like HIPAA 2025, validating a new cloud infrastructure, or preparing for CMMC Level 2, tabletop exercises can surface hidden gaps in your response.
📌 Don’t wait for a real crisis to see how your team performs.
RedLegg’s Advisory Services help security and IT leaders design, facilitate, and extract value from tabletop exercises tailored to their risk environment and business goals. We go beyond the playbook to test what matters most.
➡️ Explore Tabletop Engagements with RedLegg
Want more? Read about...
