Cybersecurity still pushed off as a non-major issue in boardrooms

Although resilient cybersecurity is the key concern amidst rapid digitisation, organisations’ boardrooms are still not attaching the required significance to it. The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) still does not agree that cyber resilience is integrated into the enterprise risk management layer, even when the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) does say so. 

While 92% of business executives surveyed agree that cyber resilience is integrated into enterprise risk-management strategies, only 55% of security-focused leaders surveyed agree with the statement, stated a World Economic Forum report. 

Around 84% of respondents share that cyber resilience is considered a business priority in their organisation with support and direction from leadership, but a significantly smaller proportion (68%) see cyber resilience as a major part of their overall risk management. 

As a result of these skewed interests, several security leaders say that their opinion is not sought in business decisions that cumulate to security threats. This lack of cohesion between leaders can lead to firms being at risk. 

Also read: Five Big Cyber Security Trends to watch out for in 2022

About 59% find it challenging to respond to a cybersecurity incident due to the shortage of skills within their team. While the majority of respondents ranked talent recruitment and retention as their most challenging aspect, business executives appear less acutely aware of the gaps than their security-focused executives, who perceive their ability to respond to an attack with adequate personnel as one of their main vulnerabilities, pointed out the report. 

The ever-increasing ransomware attacks and its sophistication, it is keeping cyber security leaders on their toes. 

As many as 80% of cyber leaders stressed that ransomware is a dangerous and evolving threat to public safety. The survey confirmed that ransomware attacks are at the forefront of cyber leaders’ minds, with 50% of respondents indicating that ransomware is one of their greatest concerns when it comes to cyber threats.