CEOs Should Be Involved In Their Cyber Security

CEOs Should Be Involved In Their Cyber Security

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By ChoiceTel

Published March 2, 2017

Why Company Leadership Should Step Up To Secure Their Business

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Cyber Security Issues "Lost" To Leadership

The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) released a survey recently which revealed some disturbing news regarding cyber security knowledge among corporate leadership. Of more than 600 corporate board directors and professionals surveyed, only 19% believe their boards have a high level of understanding of cybersecurity risks.

The survey also found that 59% of the respondents reported they find it challenging to oversee cyber security risks within their company. According to Gartner analyst Avivah Litan, that’s because cyber security decisions are most generally left to CIOs, CISOx, or business line managers throughout government and the private sector.

Delegating would seem to make sense in this manner. Why not leave cyber security to the professionals you hired to handle those issues? The problem is, with cyber security it’s not so simple as that.

Why CEOs Should Take the Reigns with Cyber Security

The more technology advances, the more avenues there are for cyberattacks to occur. It’s not just about securing your computer anymore. Cyber threats have evolved to targeting not just computers, networks, and smartphones but also people, modes of transportation, power grids… you name it.

What’s more, a report recently released by Cybersecurity Ventures, a firm which researches global cybercribe data, indicates half of all cybercrime attacks occur against businesses. These same cyberattacks are projected to cause a whopping $6 trillion in expenses annually by 2021. That’s a whole lot of revenue to be putting at risk in the name of delegation.

For a company to protect itself against the very possible risk of intrusion, it takes an entire educated staff following security procedures within the business at all times. This requires the oversight of the business leader. YOU must be aware of the current threats, select the programs and processes to follow, and enforce company education and policy regarding cybersecurity. 

When Time is The Issue

Amjed Saffarini, CEO at Cybervista, spoke at the Cyber Investing Summit recently. He explained the issue simply: CEOs may be receptive to learning about cyber, but their challenge is setting aside the time and finding the right training programs.

 

     
     Saffarini gave advice on how to combat this issue:

  •  Find a training program which has everything broken down into plain English and business terms you can easily understand
  • The program needs to be delivered 15 to 20 minutes at a time so it can easily be worked into your busy schedule.

 

 

Of course, as a business professional, even 20 spare minutes can be difficult to find. But the investment is worth it when it leads to properly securing your business network and communications. With nearly weekly attacks making news headlines, one thing is clear for business in 2017: company executives and board members need to be educated on cybersecurity now, or the damage will only get worse.

Sources: “Corporate boards aren’t prepared for cyberattacks,” by Matt Hamblen, Senior Editor, Computerworld – Dec 26, 2016; “More Than Half of Public Company Boards Recognize the Effects of Short-Termism,” by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), Press Release – Dec. 5, 2016; “Hackerpocalypse: A Cybercrime Revelation: 2016 Cybercrime Report,” by Steve Morgan, Editor-In-Chief, Cybersecurity Ventures – Aug. 17, 2016; “Why CEOs are Failing Cybersecurity,, And How To Help Them Get Passing Grades,” by Steve Morgan, Contributor for Forbes Magazine – May 4, 2016

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