As the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for a publicly traded company, keeping the availability of our systems is paramount to steady business operations, upholding customer trust, and meeting regulatory requirements. To achieve this goal, I would implement several key protections:

Implement redundant hardware, network components, and data centers to mitigate the risk of single points of failure. Redundancy ensures that if one component or system fails, there are backups in place to maintain uninterrupted service.

Implement load balancing across multiple servers to distribute incoming traffic evenly. This helps prevent any single server from becoming overwhelmed and makes sure that services remain available even during high traffic periods or in the event of a server failure.

Deploy DDoS protection solutions to detect and mitigate large-scale attacks aimed at overwhelming our systems with traffic. This includes deploying dedicated DDoS mitigation appliances or subscribing to cloud-based DDoS protection services.

By implementing these protections, we can minimize the risk of system downtime and ensure that our systems remain available to support our business operations, maintain customer trust, and meet regulatory requirements.