Six ways to reduce cyber risk in the C-suite

Two in three U.S. organizations believe the distraction caused by the pandemic poses a "significant risk" to operational technology (OT) environments, according to a study commissioned by Sapien Cyber and administered by Norstat.

The report, "The C-Suite's Guide to Cyber Risks," used survey findings from 100 Chief Security Officers (CSO), Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) and other board-level security experts at large U.S. enterprises to understand how the C-suite is taking on evolving cybersecurity threats.

While the study highlights the potentially devastating effects of the pandemic on OT environments across the country, 90% of enterprises have evaluated the threats they face in OT environments, an encouraging sign that this crucial area of an organization’s IT systems isn’t being overlooked.

The report highlighted six C-suite-level strategies that security leaders believe could help reduce cyber risk, including:

Discuss cybersecurity prominently in board meetings (79%)
Thoroughly evaluate the business risks of cyber threats (64%)
CEOs should assume overall responsibility for organizational cybersecurity (63%)
Increase cybersecurity budgets (62%)
Develop long-term cybersecurity strategies (57%)
Amend reporting structures to give security direct board access (50%)

A third of CSOs and other board-level security experts believed the CEO was the "biggest barrier" to improving cybersecurity, putting a spotlight on a perceived lack of recognition for cybersecurity’s importance amongst company leaders.

For more survey findings, download the report here.

In today's rapidly evolving security landscape, organizations face an ever-growing array of disruptive events, security threats and risks. Traditional reactive approaches to security intelligence often leave businesses vulnerable and ill-prepared to anticipate and mitigate emerging threats that could impact the safety of their people, facilities or operations.

ON DEMAND: Apple Mac computer use is growing in the corporate space. Having the solutions and the knowledge base to respond to events that include Mac computers is just as important as their Windows counterparts.