DeepSec 2024 Talk: Executive Breach Simulation Toolkits – Pavle Bozalo, Aron Feuer & Matias Ulloa
As cyberattacks multiply and become more sophisticated, executive breach simulation toolkits have become essential. Enabling organizations to simulate, predict, and assess the impact of potential security breaches from an executive perspective is necessary to know how to keep organizations safe.
Unfortunately, simulations are broken. Simply put, they don’t properly prepare leaders and security practitioners for security breaches. This talk will look at the evolving landscape of breach simulation toolkits designed for security practitioners, focusing on their role in enhancing cybersecurity strategies, incident preparedness, and organizational resilience. We will see how simulations can be engaging, while remaining instructive and preparing people for actual cyber events.
We’ll discuss how these toolkits work, why they’re essential for making smarter business decisions around cybersecurity, and how they help align leadership with technical teams. Real-world examples will show how using these tools can strengthen response strategies and enhance communication across the organization.
Attendees will walk away with practical tips on choosing and using the right toolkit for their organization, integrating it into risk management plans, and using it to stay ahead of potential cyber threats. The goal is to give executives a clearer picture of their cybersecurity landscape and how to respond effectively to potential breaches.
We asked Pavle, Aron and Matias a few more questions about their talk.
Please tell us the top 5 facts about your talk.
- Breach simulation toolkits are essential to help organizations simulate, predict, and assess the impact of security breaches from a leadership perspective.
- Breach simulations are currently ineffective because they fail to adequately prepare leaders and security teams for actual cyber events.
- Effective simulations test response plans, helping organizations become more prepared and resilient in the face of cyber threats.
- The talk will include authentic examples showing how simulations have improved responses and communication during actual breaches.
- Simulations should be a regular part of cybersecurity training, not just something done once or twice.
How did you come up with it? Was there something like an initial spark that set your mind on creating this talk?
We came up with this talk as we noticed the growing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks and the urgent need for organizations to be better prepared. Through our experience in the field, we observed that existing breach simulation toolkits often do not properly prepare executives and security teams for real incidents. This disconnect between leadership and technical teams became clear as we saw many executives struggling to understand the full scope of cybersecurity risks and how to respond effectively. Conversations with industry partners also highlighted the lack of practical, actionable guidance on choosing and implementing these toolkits. Real-world breaches and security incidents reinforced the importance of simulations that are not only engaging but also instructive, aligning leadership with technical teams for a more coordinated response.
Why do you think this is an important topic?
This is an important topic because the landscape of cybersecurity is evolving rapidly, and organizations must be prepared to deal with increasingly sophisticated and frequent cyberattacks. Executives play a crucial role in guiding organizations through these crises, but many remain disconnected from the realities of incident response, making it difficult to respond effectively when a breach occurs. Current breach simulations often cannot bridge this gap, hindering organizations’ ability to respond swiftly and decisively. By improving how simulations are designed and executed, we can help organizations align leadership with technical teams, enhance decision-making, and ultimately build more resilient cybersecurity strategies. This talk addresses a critical need for practical, engaging toolkits helping both executives and security teams to navigate and mitigate cyber threats, ensuring that organizations are better positioned to protect themselves in an increasingly hostile digital environment.
Is there something you want everybody to know – some good advice for our readers, maybe?
The audience should know that this talk addresses a critical gap in how organizations currently prepare for cyberattacks. While breach simulation toolkits are widely used, they often fall short in effectively preparing leadership and security teams for real-world incidents. We’ll explore the challenges with current simulations, and how they cannot bridge the disconnect between executives and technical teams, leaving organizations vulnerable. The talk will offer practical, actionable advice on selecting and using the right simulation toolkit to enhance incident preparedness, improve cybersecurity strategies, and strengthen organizational resilience. Real-world examples will be shared to illustrate how better simulations can lead to more effective response strategies, better communication, and smarter decision-making. By the end, attendees will have a clearer understanding of the cybersecurity landscape and how to use simulations to stay ahead of evolving threats. Whether you’re a security practitioner, executive, or part of a risk management team, this talk will give you valuable insights into improving your organization’s ability to respond to cyber threats.
A prediction for the future – what do you think will be the next innovations or future downfalls for your field of expertise/the topic of your talk in particular?
Soon, breach simulation toolkits will become a cornerstone of cybersecurity preparedness, evolving beyond their current limitations to become highly immersive platforms offering more realistic, scenario-based simulations. As cyber threats continue to grow in complexity, organizations will increasingly recognize the need for simulations that not only engage executives and technical teams but also provide real-time, adaptive environments to test and refine response strategies. These toolkits will incorporate AI and machine learning to simulate the latest attack vectors and predict how a breach might unfold in a specific organizational context, allowing for more tailored and proactive risk management. Moreover, simulations will become more integrated into day-to-day operations, enabling organizations to continuously assess and improve their security posture while fostering stronger alignment between leadership and technical teams. Ultimately, we believe that effective breach simulations will play a crucial role in transforming how organizations anticipate, respond to, and recover from cyberattacks, helping them stay one step ahead of increasingly sophisticated adversaries.
A social scientist by trade, Pavle Bozalo is a risk analyst specializing in risk assessment, audit, and privacy. Outside of his consulting career, Pavle is a researcher, his areas of interest sitting at the intersection of surveillance technologies, civil rights, and global affairs.
Aron Feuer is the Chief Executive Optimist at Valencia. Aron manages cybersecurity projects and builds cybersecurity programs for the federal government, banks, and Canadian business. He has led hundreds of penetration tests and threat risk assessments, simulations, and incident response projects, including helping the City of Ottawa recover from a hack by
Anonymous. A national expert on cybersecurity, he co-authored Canadian Privacy—Data Protection Law and Privacy. Aron is a former stockbroker and technology architect. In 1998, he started Cygnos IT Security, which grew to be a regional player and was sold to a global accounting firm. In 2015, Aron launched Valencia with Michael Power and Sameer Malik.
Matias is a seasoned cybersecurity analyst currently working at Valencia, where he leverages hands-on expertise to secure infrastructure and deliver client-focused solutions. Known for aligning strategies with organizational goals, he is dedicated to advancing practical security innovations.