According to a number of dictionaries, the word influence is generally defined as: “The power to change or affect someone or something; the power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen; the power to shape policy or ensure favorable treatment from someone.”
There are significant opportunities for security and risk executives to be influenced as well as to be the ones that are acting as the ones that are influencing others. There are a broad range of forces external to the enterprise that become influencers on the actions and measures you will need to consider implementing. These outside forces include such things as: government regulatory requirements, case law, contractual requirements, competitive pressures, good practices and industry trends. Other external influencers may include such things as: severe weather or climate conditions, cyber-attacks or transnational crime, terrorism and regional or global economic instability to name just a few.