Cyber Resilience vs Cybersecurity: Which One Stops Ransomware?

For the third time today after my coffee, I am staring through my firewall logs—again! There’s something about watching packets move (or get blocked) that just gives me the same satisfaction as watching the perfect-tuned car engine purr. But this is not a story about networks or packet captures. This is about something I’ve probably been asked a hundred times just this year: What’s better against ransomware — cybersecurity or cyber resilience?

Short answer? Cybersecurity. Long answer? Well, read on.

Quick Take

If you’re short on time:

• Cybersecurity (this is your shield, firewalls, intrusion detection, EDR, the shiny things that stop the attack before it’s executed).
• Cyber Resilience is what occurs after the bad guys are in — backup recovery, incident respond, organization continuity.
• Both matter but prevention (cybersecurity) is always better than cure (resilience).
• The best companies I’ve worked with, including three banks that we helped migrate to zero trust within the last few months, focus on strong security first, THEN resilience.

If you prevent ransomware from executing, you don’t have to recover from it in a resilient manner.

Ok, so let’s unpack this.

What is Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is what I based my career on — back in the early ’90s, when Slammer was knocking out SQL servers faster than you could patch them. It is your first line of defense against ransomware.

Cybersecurity includes:

• Firewalls (yes they still matter—if you set them up properly)
• Detection and prevention of intrusions (IDPS)
• Endpoint detection & response (EDR)
• Zero trust architecture (trust as a liability in security)
• Vulnerability patching (as outdated systems are an attacker’s best friend)

And here’s the truth: whether I’m working on ancient-school multiplexers or modern-day zero-trust systems, I know an effective cybersecurity game plan stops ransomware at the door.

Example? A client of ours had a ransomware attack attempt last year. Their behavioral AI-based EDR (and okay, I doubt AI, but this time, it did work) intercepted suspicious activity before encryption began. No infections. No downtime. No need for resilience. This is also why cybersecurity trumps cyber resilience when it comes to ransomware. Because if you’re relying on resilience, that means you’ve already been struck.

What is Cyber Resilience?

Cyber resilience is akin to having airbags and seatbelts — nice to have, but not replacing good brakes.

It’s how well you recover from an attack. And yes, it matters, particularly as threats are becoming nastier. Even superb cybersecurity can’t be perfect (not when insiders are sharing phishing emails like lottery tickets).

Cyber resilience includes:

• Backup and disaster recovery (Congratulations — if your backups are network-connected, they’re encrypted as well)
• Incident response plans (because, when ransomware strikes, panicking is NOT a strategy)
• Business continuity (being able to maintain a functioning business in the event of an attack)
• Cyber insurance (but let’s be real here: if you’re counting on this, it’s like thinking your seat belt is going to save you from any possible car crash)

Resilience does NOT equate to ignoring security best practices. Those banks that I assisted in upgrading their zero-trust architecture? They didn’t wait for a hit to strengthen security. Smart move.

Difference & Business Benefit

Security Comes First, Resilience Second. A cyber-secure organization will need to be resilient less often. Simple math.

But let’s talk benefits:

• Cybersecurity minimizes risk – Threats are stopped before damage happens. Less downtime. Fewer headaches.
• Cyber resilience reduces impact – If anything does get through, your business doesn’t fall apart.
• Risk vs Recovery – It depends on whether you prefer to mitigate (cheaper) or recover (more expensive).

And ransomware, specifically? Cybersecurity wins. Any day.

Cyber Resilience Strategy of PJ Networks

Security First Approach at PJ Networks

Just counting on resilience alone is like locking your front door and leaving your windows wide open. Here’s how we approach building ransomware protection for businesses:

1. Lock Down Perimeter Security – Firewalls (yes, properly configured ones) remain important, plus zero-trust policies.
2. Autonomous Endpoint Security – EDR provides solutions that not only detect but block threats before execution.
3. User Access Control – As 70% of breaches concern stolen credentials. Least privilege is a must-have, not a nice-to-have.
4. Awareness Training (Boring, Yet Realistic) – Your employees need to be able to recognize a phishing attempt, or you are already at risk.
5. Air-Gapped Backups (For True Resilience) – You say it’s about resilience, but is that hypothesis valid? No online-only backup solutions.

Conclusion

I just returned from DefCon, where ransomware was being tested on live hardware in the hacking village. It reminded me of one simple fact: attackers evolve. If you’re not actively defending your systems, you’re just biding your time until you get attacked.

Cyber resilience matters — don’t get me wrong. But for ransomware? Good cybersecurity means that resilience is unnecessary in the first place.

Want to avoid ransomware? Prioritize security. Use actual firewall rule sets. Restrict unnecessary privileges from being granted. Do not depend only on cyber resilience. Because if you’re depending on resilience, it means you’ve already lost round one.

Now, onto my fourth coffee.