Focusing Cybersecurity on What is Critical to Your Business

Nick Coleman, IBM's global head of cybersecurity, discusses the keys to a strong cybersecurity program and what companies can do to keep pace with the evolving nature of security threats, in a Wall Street Journal blog post.

Having a clear governance and leadership model, translating that into a real risk management program and understanding what happened after a cyberattack are the three key strategies for eliminating or reducing your cybersecurity risk. “If you have no feedback loops, if you don’t understand what happened operationally, if you are not seeing attacks and the way you are handling them, are you really understanding what is happening in those systems in real time?” Coleman said in the Journal blog.

“The volume of security incidents increases every year, they’re getting more complex, and data breaches are more frequent and costly than ever. That’s why businesses are turning to cyber resilience – accept that security breaches are inevitable and develop the ability to efficiently handle them and move on, just like any other business challenge,” John Bruce, CEO of Resilient Systems, which sponsored the latest Ponemon Institute report on cyber threats, told SCMagazine.com recently.

Data breaches that get reported are just the tip of the iceberg, the Ponemon Institute says. Ponemon notes that as part of everyday business, there are exponentially more security incidents than data breaches. Under federal law, all security incidents need to be assessed to determine if they are data breaches that require reporting. The study’s findings indicate that organizations are not thoroughly assessing their security incidents. In fact, one-third of the respondents do not have an incident response process in place.

Coleman advises that cybersecurity teams use common language to keep the board and the C-suite up to date. “Generally, organizations that embrace it understand the conversation, they don’t just keep it in the technical area,” he said. “That is one thing that is still emerging, those reporting mechanisms and how to get the board to see the overall risk management in a way that translates the technical risk into showing how it relates to the business.

In a recent conversation Coleman had, a board director relayed to an IT person that his company had been talking about a digital transformation of the board for two years, but the conversation never involved the security team. It’s critical that companies close the loop on keeping everything informed and involved.


MORE LIKE THIS

  • Get the CEO Briefing

    Sign up today to get weekly access to the latest issues affecting CEOs in every industry
  • upcoming events

    Roundtable

    Strategic Planning Workshop

    1:00 - 5:00 pm

    Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process

    Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:

    1. Lack of systematic approach (70%)
    2. Laundry lists without prioritization (68%)
    3. Decisions based on personalities rather than facts and information (65%)

     

    Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns.  They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning.  Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process.  This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented.  If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form.  The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    New York, NY: ​​​Chief Executive's Corporate Citizenship Awards 2017

    Women in Leadership Seminar and Peer Discussion

    2:00 - 5:00 pm

    Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations. 

    Limited space available.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $495 will be added to your total.

    Golf Outing

    10:30 - 5:00 pm
    General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
    Sponsored by UBS

    General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.

    The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $295 will be added to your total.