Why Senior Leaders Must Take Lead for Cybersecurity Across Businesses?

In the fourth industrial revolution, where each company is racing towards becoming digital, it is crucial to consider cybersecurity to protect critical information assets. So, as the pace of change is only to expedite, it is the responsibility of senior executives or business leaders to take responsibility of cybersecurity. With the recent cyberattacks and data breaches, despite the years of efforts and annual spending of billions of dollars, they must comprehend their strategy against this challenge.

While cyber threats continue to grow in frequency, the ability to make right and strategic decisions from senior leaders is required to drive more informed investment and resourcing to improve readiness and resilience.

The significance of cybersecurity is no more a secret to anyone in today's digital world. But there are a number of structural and organizational issues that obscure the process of deploying business-driven, risk-management-oriented cybersecurity operating models within a company. So, understanding the issue is quite distinct for addressing it and only continuous support from top management can ensure progress while easing the risk of cyberattacks eventually.

What Does Cybersecurity Mean for Decision Makers?

Each and every organization is led by people who are accountable for setting the overall direction, establishing priorities, maintaining influence over organizational functions and thwarting risks from suspicious actors. These people in the wide range of industries held at the top, board and C-suite level, and these are the ones who are responsible for the organizations' well-being and performance.

Cybersecurity is also among their primary concerns in rapidly changing business landscape. These decision-makers have a specific role and their responsibility regarding their organizations' cybersecurity revolves around managing and mitigating overall cyber-related business risks; setting effective governance controls; prioritizing and resourcing cybersecurity programs; protecting sensitive information the business relies on for planning and decision making; and creating a cybersecurity culture within the organizations.

As companies, cities and countries navigate through the pace of change in this internet and cyber-driven world, the security of digital assets and sensitive data will become more essential to drive overall growth. Thus, to accelerate and maintain cybersecurity programs and initiatives, C-suite executives as well as policy-makers must garner a better understanding of the cyber risks to which their organization, municipality or country are exposed.

And if business and government leaders have a strong grasp of their entities' vulnerabilities and understanding of which critical assets are at risk, they can make timely strategic decisions and take effective action on investments and resourcing in order to strengthen their organizations' resilience and safety measures.

Business Leaders Must Take Responsibility for Cybersecurity

The potential risks of cyberattacks typically span functions and business units, companies and customers. So, just safeguarding a business's information is no longer justifies the vulnerabilities as it can harm trust with the public and customers, company reputation, as well as security of data, IP and critical infrastructure. And this can all lead to higher-level issues such as maintaining competitiveness in the market, stock price, and stakeholder value.

Thus, senior executives, board members and the C-suite leaders will require to make fast and effective security decisions that safeguard the company and business, both from a market and a reputation perspective.