A recent IBM study found that 70 percent of CxOs think rogue individuals make up the largest threat to their organizations.
In reality, according to a United Nations report, 80 percent of cyberattacks are driven by highly organized crime rings in which data, tools and expertise are widely shared.
The IBM study found that a broad set of adversaries concerned the C-Suite including 54 percent who acknowledged crime rings were a concern.
Over 50 percent of CEOs agree collaboration is necessary to combat cybercrime, but only one-third of CEOs expressed willingness to share their organization’s cybersecurity incident information externally.
This throws light into the industrial behaviour of a resistance in sharing, while hackers easily share information in near real-time on the Dark Web.
“The world of cybercrime is evolving rapidly but many C-Suite executives have not updated their understanding of the threats,” saidCaleb Barlow, Vice President, IBM Security.
“While CISOs and the Board can help provide the appropriate guidance and tools, CxOs in Marketing, Human Resources, and Finance, some of the most sensitive and data-heavy departments, should be more proactively involved in security decisions with the CISO.”
In fact, marketing, human resources, and finance departments represent prime targets for cybercriminals as they manage some of the most sensitive customer and employee data, manage corporate financials and have access to banking details.
In the study, roughly 60 percent of CFOs, CHROs, and CMOs readily acknowledge they, and by extension their divisions, are not actively engaged in cybersecurity strategy and execution.
Only 57 percent of CHRO’s report they have rolled out employee training that addresses cybersecurity, a first step in getting employees engaged on cybersecurity.
At the end, IBM study concluded saying that organisations must understand the risk, collaborate, educate and empower CISO and should manage risk with vigilance and speed to defend cyber attacks.
Arya MM
