A proactive approach to cybersecurity, led by the board, which embeds the right systems and technologies will not only respond to cyberattacks, but also enable enterprise growth.
The latest figures from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner are instructive. Australian organizations reported 245 data breaches between July and September 2018. Of those, 20 percent occurred when personal information was sent to the wrong recipient, by email, mail, fax or other means. A further 20 percent of breaches were attributed to phishing.
The solution? A “when, not if” proactive approach to cybersecurity, led by the board, which embeds the right systems and technologies to not only respond to attacks, but also to enable enterprise growth. At EY, we call this approach ‘trust by design’. This is not about investing in technology, but about investing in trust. Ultimately security builds customer loyalty, and any future growth strategy is dependent on customer loyalty and trust.
Is your company ready to harness cybersecurity as a growth strategy? Ask yourself:
Protection: How can I protect my organization – and its most valuable assets – in the face of increasing cybersecurity attacks? Consider not only the obvious cybersecurity weaknesses, but your regulatory responsibilities.
Optimization: What cybersecurity activities could we automate or undertake more cost effectively, and how do we look beyond our biggest risks?
Growth: How can we design and build secure new channels and differentiate around security and privacy for growth?
Four in 10 organizations currently say that the person with ultimate responsibility for cybersecurity is a member of the board or executive management. As security evolves as a key enabler of growth, we think this proportion is likely to increase.
A robust cybersecurity strategy is no longer a cost of doing business. It’s a determining factor of whether a company will stay in business
Summary
It can be tempting to think that cybersecurity is a problem for your company’s chief information security officer. But the more our businesses digitize and automate operations, the more open we are to attack. The solution? A “when, not if” proactive approach to cybersecurity, led by the board, which embeds the right systems and technologies to not only respond to attacks, but also to enable enterprise growth.