A KPMG report has found that the majority of UK CEOs are finally taking responsibility for cybersecurity, realising it is not solely in the domain of the CISO.
The report notes that 77 per cent of CEOs agreed with a statement that said ‘I am personally comfortable with the degree to which mitigating cyber risk is now part of my leadership role.’
This highly encouraging reaction from CEOs is bolstered further by the report that also found that 70 per cent of UK CEOs see investment in cybersecurity as an opportunity for innovation and to gain new revenue.
To gain these insights KPMG used a sample of 150 UK CEOs, and the results are forming a part of the CEO Outlook 2017 report from the advisory firm.
Paul Taylor, UK head of cyber security at KPMG, said: “With recent high profiles attacks like Wannacry hitting the press, cyber security should be on every CEO’s radar. Businesses now need to match their investment in innovative technology with their investment into cyber security, in order to stay one step ahead of cyber criminals,” said Taylor.
The WannaCry ransomware gained global mainstream media attention after sweeping the world and disabling major organisations such as the NHS, and Telefonica, bringing cybersecurity to the attention of all.
Another significant driving factor behind the growing cybersecurity awareness among CEOs is the impending GDPR, regulation that could deliver crippling punishment to organisations that are not taking the risks seriously.
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“It’s great that business leaders are finally seeing cyber security investment as a positive figure on the balance sheet rather than a negative one. However, more needs to be done to make sure their businesses are prepared in the event of a cyberattack, whether it’s from external sources or even insiders,” said Taylor.
