Technology risk management in a cyber world: a C-suite responsibility
What’s the fix?
In a hyper-connected world, no organization can be 100% secure.
Organizations need to ensure that they are secure enough to protect customer information and intellectual property and avoid potential lawsuits, brand damage and loss of shareholder value.
Five actions the C-suite will need to consider:
- Identifying and quantifying the real risks. The technology risk management lifecycle is a process that:
- Defines how the external threats specifically apply to the company
- estimates their potential business impact
- Defines the possible legal consequences
- Considers the risk management options based on a cost/risk reduction analysis
- Presents a prioritized financial-based set of risk management options for all relevant risks
- Makes a business decision based on the company’s risk tolerance
- Executes the decision
- Protecting what matters most. Senior executives should champion a risk management strategy to protect business growth, brand and high-value data and systems, as well as improve processes that control liability by putting in place programs that help detect, deter and respond to breaches both internally and externally.
- Sustaining an enterprise-wide program. The management of technology risks needs to be a board-level priority, where executives understand that well-established risk management practices need to be applied to security-related risks.
- Optimizing for business performance. Aligning all aspects of technology risks with the business, including information/cyber security, privacy, and physical and business continuity/resiliency, will not only protect the bottom line, it will also generate cost efficiencies and improve performance.
- Enabling business performance. Safeguarding against cyber breaches and protecting the organization’s critical assets should is rapidly emerging as a board fiduciary responsibility. When done well, the proposed enterprise-wide program can enable business performance through faster product launches, more effective customer communication and higher-quality information for decision-making.
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