These scenarios reflect what organizations prioritized to test their resilience, communication, compliance, and response capabilities throughout 2024.

🔒 1. Ransomware Attack on Core Infrastructure

Why It Was Popular:
Ransomware remained the top cyber threat in 2024, with attackers targeting backups, cloud environments, and operational tech (OT).

Key Elements Tested:

• Incident detection & containment
• Backup integrity & recovery
• Payment decision process
• Internal & public communications
• Law enforcement notification

🎣 2. Business Email Compromise (BEC) / CEO Fraud

Why It Was Popular:
Social engineering became more convincing with AI-generated deepfake emails and voice calls.

Key Elements Tested:

• Detection of suspicious email activity
• Finance team’s verification procedures
• Escalation path & legal involvement
• PR response if data or payments are leaked
• Internal awareness training effectiveness

🏗️ 3. Third-Party / Supply Chain Breach

Why It Was Popular:
Major incidents like MOVEit, SolarWinds, and Okta breaches continued to ripple across ecosystems.

Key Elements Tested:

• Vendor risk assessment process
• How quickly your organization can detect an upstream issue
• Contractual & liability obligations
• Communication with affected customers
• Regulatory response readiness (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.)

🧑‍💼 4. Insider Threat / Employee Data Theft

Why It Was Popular:
Organizations shifted focus to insider risks due to layoffs, hybrid work, and employee surveillance concerns.

Key Elements Tested:

• Access control & privilege monitoring
• Legal action for departing employee breaches
• Response coordination with HR and legal
• Forensic review and device confiscation
• Insider risk detection tooling

🌩️ 5. Cloud Misconfiguration Breach (e.g., AWS S3 Exposure)

Why It Was Popular:
Misconfigured cloud buckets led to major data exposures, especially in healthcare and finance.

Key Elements Tested:

• Alerting & monitoring setup
• Cloud access logging and IAM policies
• Rapid deprovisioning and lockdown response
• Coordination with cloud provider
• Regulatory reporting timelines

🕷️ 6. Zero-Day Exploit Detection & Response

Why It Was Popular:
Rapid zero-day exploitation (e.g., CitrixBleed, Fortinet, etc.) forced companies to patch quickly and proactively.

Key Elements Tested:

• Patch deployment and prioritization
• Real-time threat intelligence integration
• Communication with vendors and customers
• Risk-based decision-making under pressure
• Business continuity planning

🌐 7. Website Defacement or DNS Hijack

Why It Was Popular:
Hacktivist and geopolitical cyberattacks led to reputational risks and misinformation campaigns.

Key Elements Tested:

• Detection by marketing or external users
• DNS/hosting provider coordination
• Brand protection and takedown measures
• PR damage control
• Forensics on potential root cause

🧬 8. AI Prompt Injection or Data Leakage via LLM

Why It Was Emerging:
As businesses adopted ChatGPT and other LLMs internally, risks around prompt injection and sensitive data leakage became real.

Key Elements Tested:

• AI usage policies
• Role of IT/security in AI integration
• Prompt filtering and monitoring
• Legal review for data exposure
• Controls on 3rd-party AI APIs

🛒 9. eCommerce Checkout Compromise (Magecart-style Attack)

Why It Was Popular:
Retailers focused on securing customer payment data due to PCI-DSS 4.0 updates.

Key Elements Tested:

• Web application monitoring
• PCI scope and segmentation
• Coordination with payment processors
• Breach notification to customers
• PR and credit monitoring offers

🗃️ 10. Data Breach + Compliance Reporting (Multi-Jurisdiction)

Why It Was Popular:
Global businesses rehearsed incidents that required simultaneous response under GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and more.

Key Elements Tested:

• Notification deadlines per regulation
• Legal review of breach materiality
• DPO (Data Protection Officer) involvement
• Coordination across regions/time zones
• Evidence gathering and regulator communication