By Thomas Cox
Due to technology and the differing techniques used by hackers, cyber attacks are becoming more prevalent every year. Therefore, boards of directors are vital entities that must know how to deal with this type of threat. However, boards do feel vulnerable to malicious attacks.
The World Economic Forum, for example, estimated that malicious attack rates would be at 151 per cent in 2021. This is why all eyes are now on the board perspective Cybersecurity: The 2022, with the aim of decreasing this surprising percentage.
The report also includes a survey on cybersecurity within boards of directors. While concerns about investment in resources to protect from malicious attacks and their priority are legitimate, the same does not happen when the issue of security in this area is addressed. Up to 65 per cent of participants believe they are taking risks.
Despite the fact that investment in cybersecurity tools was substantial, 47 per cent of board members said they were unprepared to deal with an attack. This implies that the investment made is inadequate and that there are still shortcomings that need to be investigated.
Although efforts are being made to enhance the security of board of directors, it appears that they aren’t being successful or, at least, that they are being poorly directed. Hackers’ methods when it comes to stealing information are diverse. They may arrive in the form of email, security alerts on the computer, or other methods.
Another issue that must be addressed is the different approaches that boards and CISOs employ. Both are concerned about fraudulent email or damaged programmes. While the latter are concerned about the dangers of cloud accounts and supply chains.
It is vital to join forces and look in the same direction to be better prepared for such malicious attacks. This imbalance in approaches between boards of directors and CISOs may be to blame for creating that sense of vulnerability.
The ultimate goal is to build cyber resilience that allows boards of directors to be effective against threats. It is critical to keep talking about cybersecurity at least once a month and moving in the same direction in order to lessen the risk of being victim to malicious attacks. Although the numbers for 2021 appear to be lower than since this year, we must keep an eye on it.
