CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS IMAGE & COLOR IT IN!Inside: Arming your cybersecurity practice for a bountiful 2026, using rapid threat models to enchant scenarios with realism, and learning from a breach disclosure so cryptic it might as well have been penned in invisible ink. Plus, a nice holiday bonus from the Ally workshop...our brand new Clients Dashboard.
As the holidays settle in and 2025 gently folds its final pages, a blank and beckoning scroll unfurls for 2026. For many cybersecurity teams, the new year is already well-stocked with audits, renewals, tech investments…and yes, a sleigh brimming with tabletop exercises.
If your TTX schedule for 2026 is looking as full as that Advent calendar you forgot to open, fear not. Ally is here to walk the gauntlet beside you. As this year approaches its final chapter, our primary quest is to ensure that Facilitators are equipped with an arsenal of TTX tools that empower and streamline services in the new year. If you’re yearning to demystify the art of delivering TTXs at scale, drop us a line!
Or perhaps you’re still pondering how exercises fit into your 2026 roadmap. If so, our latest blog lays out a clear blueprint for carving out your TTX offering with confidence. It’s packed with practical methods for standardizing delivery, deepening client impact, and tiering services out into neatly laid packages that would earn a nod from even the most industrious North Pole elf.
Like Rudolph on that fabled foggy night, you are the light that guides clients along the path to preparedness. Here’s to a season of resilience. May your guilds stand well-prepared for the quests of the new year.
If Ally can come to your aid in planning for the journey ahead, simply send word by replying directly to this email. We stand ready to help you make your opening moves of 2026 with confidence.
You allies in IR,
Rob & Scout
Here, you’ll find a thoughtful exploration of how rapid threat models can infuse TTXs with sharper realism, giving teams a more authentic sense of the adversaries they may face. It’s an insightful guide for Facilitators seeking to deepen the narrative weight of their exercises by rooting them in real-world nuance. Unlock the methodology
When a cyberattack is unleashed, the real difference-maker is whether the defenders can hold the line. This piece reveals how Facilitators can utilize TTXs to surface pressure points like communication breakdown and decision-making gaps through simulated skirmishes. Study the guide
When bandits slipped past the gates of a major university, the real damage came from how long the intrusion lingered unnoticed. Now an ongoing supply chain catastrophe, Facilitators will find in this case a powerful example of why tabletop drills should test vigilance, challenging the party to spot incursions before they metastasize into full-blown crises. Examine the case scroll
Mixpanel’s breach disclosure arrived like a cryptic missive, revealing little, despite the vast troves of user data at stake. Facilitators can use this as a prompt to craft tabletops where vendor silence becomes its own kind of adversary. See how the breach played out
Woven into existence by our engineer Stacey
This month, we unveil a long-awaited improvement in the Ally arsenal: the Clients Dashboard, a newly-constructed command post designed to make onboarding and managing client accounts smoother than fine silk.
The new dashboard enables MSPs and consultants to create and access client accounts in moments. Consider it the first panel in what will become a single pane of glass for managing your exercise program.
From this new vantage, Facilitators can navigate between client realms with ease, see where each stands on the path to preparedness, and initiate exercises without friction.
And just like that, we’re only three weeks away from this year’s conclusion! We look forward to greeting you in 2026 with insightful wisdom, freshly forged facilitation tools, and the occasional chuckle through Lore & Order.
Until next time, may all your tabletops be merry and bright!
About Ally Security
Ally is here to support facilitators, which in turn creates a virtuous cycle where exercises take less time, provide more value, are run more frequently, and can make every organization can be better prepared.
The unexpected wins. The client curveballs. The chaos you couldn’t have scripted if you tried. Dear Asa is your space to share the stories that don’t make it into the official post-incident report. Script, submit, and enjoy a chance to be featured or quoted in an upcoming post.
