Steps to Jumpstart Executive Focus on Digital Security
In today's digital landscape, the importance of cybersecurity has never been more critical. IT professionals are tasked with ensuring the resilience and innovation of their organisations, and communicating this need to senior management effectively is key.
According to a PwC survey, only 36% of respondents stated that the board is involved in security policies. To bridge this gap, IT professionals can align security with business priorities. Cybersecurity is increasingly viewed as a business enabler by 67% of companies, protecting business value, enabling data governance, compliance, and competitive advantage.
Clear, measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) also play a significant role. By defining and reporting on KPIs such as incident response times, number of security incidents, and employee security awareness levels, senior leaders can understand risks and progress.
Engaging senior management as stakeholders is another crucial step. This can be achieved by involving them in policy frameworks, making security a leadership priority, and incorporating it into KPIs and performance reviews.
Fostering a security-conscious culture is equally important. Promoting security awareness through regular training and internal communication, making secure behaviour part of the organisational culture, is key to this.
Presenting security investment as innovation and risk mitigation is another effective strategy. Investing in advanced security technologies and frameworks not only mitigates risk but supports innovation and digital transformation priorities that senior leaders value.
Simplifying communication is also vital. Using multiple channels to communicate policies clearly and consistently, focusing on the impact to organisational objectives rather than just technical details, helps to ensure that everyone understands the importance of cybersecurity.
Organisations should not wait for a cyber attack to engage in cybersecurity measures. Hackers often target companies that struggle with the cost and complexity of securing their networks, making proactive engagement essential. High-quality, open-source security scanning tools are available online for self-audits if an independent third party is too expensive.
After identifying and verifying issues, the next step is determining remediation, which may require expert help. After securing the budget for a modern, dynamic security system, it's important to keep security audit reports current and provide regular updates on progress.
The costs of a critical system hack, including potential litigation, revenue losses, reputation damage, and time spent by internal staff, should be considered when prioritising cybersecurity measures. Corrective measures should be executed as soon as possible after understanding the risks.
To win over senior management for increased IT security involvement and investment, one should understand the business objectives. Presenting risks in terms of time and money, and explaining the current state of security and the risks using business impact terms, can help to make a compelling case.
It's also important to avoid using jargon and keep presentations clear and non-technical. Senior management has to balance competing business initiatives, growth plans, and expenses.
Rich Barber, CFO of WatchGuard, emphasises the importance of this approach. "By adopting these methods, IT professionals can effectively demonstrate the critical role of security in business resilience and innovation, encouraging senior management to prioritise and invest accordingly," he says.
The IT team at Target, for instance, raised concerns about security to the C-Suite before a breach occurred. This proactive approach is a testament to the importance of cybersecurity in business operations.
In conclusion, by aligning security with business priorities, using clear, measurable KPIs, engaging senior management as stakeholders, fostering a security-conscious culture, presenting security investment as innovation and risk mitigation, simplifying communication, and understanding business objectives, IT professionals can effectively communicate the importance of security preparedness to senior management, leading to prioritisation and increased investment in security initiatives.
- In order to align cybersecurity with business priorities, IT professionals should present security investments as innovation and risk mitigation, highlighting how such investments support digital transformation and business resilience.
- To ensue senior management's support in implementing cybersecurity measures, IT professionals should avoid using jargon and focus on presenting risks in terms of their potential financial and reputational impact on the organization's objectives.
