Gyle dela Cruz
Gyle spent a decade in IT before transitioning into cyber security, where she now specialises in digital forensics and incident response. Her fascination with operational technology security began after reading about Stuxnet and deepened while taking an elective in Critical Infrastructure and Control System Security, where her team's OT environment was thoroughly compromised by a three-person red team in the final capstone exercise. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Incident Response from the SANS Institute, multiple GIAC certifications, and a master's in Cyber Security (Digital Forensics) from UNSW Canberra. Today, she leads a team of cyber defenders, and actively supports the security community through volunteering and mentoring.
11:15 amThe Tabletop Starts Before Game Day: Lessons from Planning Exercises That Actually Work
40 minutesGyle dela Cruz
The Tabletop Starts Before Game Day: Lessons from Planning Exercises That Actually Work
Everyone loves talking about tabletop exercises. Almost nobody talks about the work that happens beforehand.
Choosing the right scenario. Defining success. Finding the right participants. Writing injects that challenge without derailing the exercise. Managing personalities, competing priorities, and unrealistic expectations. The planning phase is where tabletop exercises are won or quietly doomed.
In this session, I'll pull back the curtain on what goes into preparing a cyber tabletop exercise, sharing practical advice and lessons learned from real exercises. Through stories of unexpected challenges, planning mistakes, and surprising successes, we'll explore what makes an exercise memorable for the right reasons.
Attendees will leave with a practical framework for planning tabletop exercises, common pitfalls to avoid, and ideas for creating exercises that generate meaningful discussion instead of awkward silence.