As businesses invest in digital transformation and adopt structures, systems and tools focused on information technology, they gain incredible value and increased risk. Businesses with more digital infrastructure and assets become high-priority targets for cybercriminals, who launch millions of cyberattacks every day in the hopes of infiltrating business networks and pilfering valuable data. Unfortunately, many executives keen on leveraging cutting-edge digital solutions neglect to consider the strength of their cybersecurity and the consequences of a successful cyberattack.
Business leaders do not need advanced knowledge and skill in information technology or cybersecurity to develop an effective strategy to keep their organization and customers safe. Here are four ways executives can make meaningful changes and support cybersecurity into the future.
1. Connect Cybersecurity to the Company’s Mission
Before an executive can make any changes to policy or processes to improve an organization’s cybersecurity, they need to integrate cybersecurity into the foundational principles of the company. The safety and security of the business’s data, assets and people should be included in the company mission statement and core values, so leaders can align the workforce’s objectives and behaviors with the new commitment to cybersecurity.
Before writing cybersecurity into the existing mission statement, it might be useful for executives to think about the purpose of their cybersecurity program. Generally, business leaders become invested in cybersecurity for two reasons: risk reduction and loss prevention. Executives might consider how these reasons for cybersecurity impact the mission as it stands. When cybersecurity is so clearly connected to existing objectives and values, it is much easier for the organization to accept cybersecurity as a guiding principle.
2. Integrate Cybersecurity Positions Into Business Leadership
Smaller businesses are not likely to have members of the c-suite dedicated to IT — which means they do not have an experienced leader capable of crafting an effective cybersecurity strategy. The CEO and COO have neither the capacity to learn what they need to know about cybersecurity in time to keep their organizations safe from attack nor the bandwidth to monitor, analyze and adjust cybersecurity strategy and operations into the future. Thus, it is imperative that companies create new leadership positions for cybersecurity experts. Some business leadership roles that might assume the responsibility of cybersecurity include:
Chief Information Officer (CIO). The CIO oversees an organization’s strategic IT efforts, ensuring they run efficiently and effectively.
Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The CTO is responsible for utilizing technology to promote business growth.
Chief Security Officer (CSO)/Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). The CSO/CISO is specifically tasked with ensuring the safety of an organization’s data, assets and people.
Chief Digital Officer (CDO). The CDO plans and implements the digital transformation of all or parts of an organization.
3. 3. Invest in Cybersecurity Training for the Entire Workforce
Most executives already recognize the value of continuing to engage in education, which can provide them with skills and knowledge valuable to competitive business strategy. In pursuit of abilities pertaining to cybersecurity, many executives will engage with information technology courses that provide insights into digital systems and the policies and procedures most effective at keeping them safe.
However, an organization is not composed only of its top leadership. Executives need to provide cybersecurity education and training for all levels of the workforce, to ensure that every staff member understands and accepts the new cybersecurity processes. Executives can work with HR to determine the best training method for the workforce. Some ways to empower employees with proper cybersecurity knowledge and skill include:
# Online courses. Companies can work with training partners to offer quick and effective online classes that provide instruction in relevant aspects of cybersecurity.
# Seminars. Companies can host cybersecurity experts who offer lectures and discussions on cybersecurity to the workforce.
# Testing. Companies should regularly review employees’ cybersecurity knowledge and skill with assessments that examine their behavior in the workplace.
4. Prioritize Cybersecurity in the Business Budget
Finally, most executives have supreme power over one critical aspect of business operations: the budget. By ensuring that cybersecurity is a priority item within the budget, executives can provide their IT security teams with the resources they need to protect the organization’s data, assets and people.
Digital technology has myriad benefits — but with those benefits come grave dangers. Cybersecurity helps mitigate the risk of digital transformation, so organizations can thrive in digital environments while keeping what matters as safe as possible.
