Cystel Tabletop Exercise
Thornfield Bank
A live cyber-crisis simulation. Four teams, four rounds, one breach that keeps getting worse.
About the exercise
The organisations involved
Two fictional companies, built for this exercise.
Vantix Data Services
Third-party document processor
Handles loan document processing and KYC archiving for several UK banks, including Thornfield. Vantix was breached — not Thornfield.
Thornfield Bank
Retail & commercial bank · 4.2M customers
A mid-size UK bank offering personal and business banking, mortgages, and commercial lending. Your team works here.
Both organisations are fictional, created for this exercise.
About the exercise
How your decisions will be judged
Every choice your team makes across the exercise is weighed against five things. Keep these in mind once you're in the room.
Containment
How much worse does this get, technically, from here.
Regulatory standing
Whether the regulator sees you as cooperative or evasive.
Reputation & trust
How customers and the public read what you did.
Financial cost
What the choice costs the bank, now or later.
Internal cohesion
Whether your four teams' actions actually line up.