The Ipsos MORI Global Business Resilience Trends Watch 2018 survey reveals that the perception of risk remains elevated and while organizations are increasingly implementing prevention and mitigation measures there are still opportunities for improvement as major strategic aspects are being missed.

For years we’ve talked about the dearth of skilled cybersecurity professionals which ISACA reports is now estimated to reach two million by 2019. Encouraging more individuals to pursue technical and engineering degrees can help address the shortage. But we can also expand the talent pool by thinking more broadly about cybersecurity and what it takes to be an expert.

The mysterious foreign villains striking the largest companies and political organizations from the dark corners of the Internet tend to get the splashy headlines. However, the network openings that allow outside cyber-attackers to burrow in, infect databases, and potentially take down an organization’s file servers overwhelmingly originate with trusted insiders.

When it comes to the cybersecurity talent shortage, an already troublesome situation is getting worse: The shortage is expected to grow to 1.8 million employees by 2022, which is 20 percent greater than a forecast from 2015, according to the 2017 Global Information Security Workforce Study.

This year’s Security 500 report offers 10 security risks to your enterprise’s reputation, as ranked by you in your Security 500 survey responses, in addition to how one CSO is mitigating them in his enterprise.

What are the critical issues and trends in your sector in 2017? How does your enterprise compare to your peers?

The purpose of the Security 500 is to create a reliable database to measure your organization versus others and create a benchmarking program among security organizations. The results will enable you to answer the question, “Where Do I Stand?” as a basis of an ongoing peer review process.

Which security programs are taking the lead? These 500 enterprises have been ranked through metrics to determine the forerunners in 17 sectors.

Read about the 2017 Security 500 thought leaders.

Dave Aflalo has protected Presidents of the United States, nuclear power plants and CEOs. Over a 35-year career, his work has spanned the industry spectrum and has included senior leadership roles ensuring security and safety in both the public and private sectors.