Continuing on our Cybersecurity theme this week, Protiviti recently published a new issue of our Board Perspective on Risk Oversight newsletter.  This article outlines what boards of directors should be focusing on to understand the organization’s risk exposure and mitigate the likelihood of a cyberattack.  Here is a synopsis of the newsletter:

Boards remain concerned with the security and availability of information systems and the protection of confidential, sensitive data from the commercial cyber war in which their organizations are engaged. Many executives think their risk tolerance is low, yet act as though it is relatively high, thus necessitating board engagement with cybersecurity.

This article discusses eight business realities directors should consider as they oversee cybersecurity risk.

There are three points highlighted in the article that are worth reiterating:

  • Cybersecurity is like a game of chess.  Chess is a long game where you have to think multiple steps ahead.  The same is true for cybersecurity and organizations must understand that some investments may never show a “tangible” return on investment because they focus on discouraging or preventing potential attacks.
  • Cybersecurity must extend beyond the four walls.  Companies today are extremely dependent on cloud solutions and other vendors to support the business functions.  Since this often requires the sharing of data outside of the corporate network, it is important to understand how these vendors will protect your information in order to minimize your overall risk profile.
  • Cyber issues cannot dominate the IT budget.  It is human nature to invest in the areas that the organization is most concerned in, but IT leaders must balance the need to protect the organization with the need to make investments to grow and transform the business.

Read the full newsletter on Protiviti.com. What insights do you feel were the most important?