Majority of firms unsure who should manage cyber security

The majority of executives worldwide are not sure who should be in charge of their firm’s cyber resilience, with most facing a “specialist or generalist” dilemma
That is according to new research from Willis Towers Watson (WLTW), which shows that almost 40% of executives feel the board should be responsible for cyber.
However, almost a quarter think the role should be given to a specialised committee, while others believe responsibility lies with audit, risk, or another subgroup.
Moreover, it was found that just 8% believe their chief information security officer (CISO) performs “above average” in communicating the consequences of cyber threats.
WLTW global head of cyber risk, Anthony Dagostino, said the problem was that many CISOs struggle translating security threats into operational and financial impacts.
“To close this communication gap, CISOs need tools that can help them quantify and translate the vulnerabilities uncovered from their cyber security maturity assessments,” he continued.
“These tools enable them to better communicate the risk to the board, seek adequate budget, and enable the board to provide meaningful guidance”.
The research involved a survey of executives from over 450 companies, finding that three out of four regions believe the “board as a whole” should oversee cyber risk.
Most European firms think a dedicated cyber group should be responsible, while the UK was the only region where the heads of cyber report to the board rather than the CEO.
It was also found that just 30% of executives believe they have enough directors that understand cyber risks, but that only 23% are actively recruiting directors that do.
Despite the widespread uncertainty, WLTW found that around two-thirds of companies believe a partnership between human resources and information security is key.
“Still, organisations need greater collaboration to truly assess the organisational culture driving cyber risk in the first instance,” Dagostino continued.
“The solution isn’t always more training. It could be a leadership or incentives and rewards issue, things that fall squarely within the function of the chief human resources officer.”
Source theactuary

Latest Jobs
-
- Outside IR 35 CONTRACT SC CLEARED Cyber Security Operations Analyst SPLUNK ES- UK REMOTE- £500 a day.
- N/A
- 500
-
6 month contract Outside IR35 Operational Cyber Security Analyst. Hands on Splunk Security Enterprise and Security clearance is required As is someone that holds SC clearance. SOC and Vulnerability management experience. Vulnerability Analysis / Management - Tenable
-
- SailPoint Consultant
- Sweden
- Upto €80,000
-
SailPoint Consultant is need for this rapidly expanding global business, The business is currently in the middle of a SailPoint Deployment, they require an experienced Consultant who is able to help them on this Journey You will be responsible for helping to configure and deploy SailPoint as well as on board applications onto the platform You will also work with the business to understand workflow and process to help align the way the business works to ensure that the business gets the most from the deployment We are looking for an experienced SailPoint consultant who has experience with both Deployment and BAU work and is interested in joining a business which is at the start of an interesting IAM Journey
-
- SOC Manager Security Operations. SIEM, Threat / Vulnerability, IR, SOC Service- Exclusive
- United Kingdom
- 90,000+
-
SOC Manager- SIEM, Threat / Vulnerability, Incident response. Exclusive Project. Management and on growth growth of Security Operations Centre capability. Managing and maturing the team, technical services line and fronting client engagements where needed. An in-depth technical background is essential, experience across SOC SIEM/ Threat Hunting (IR) tools, processes, techniques, operational is a MUST. The role will include, but not limited to; evolving the technical process, building operational capability, managing and hiring team, involved at a high level overviewing policy/playbooks, fine turning of the go-to-market collateral etc.
-
- Contact 12 month- Security Operations- Tanium Engineer / Analyst.
- United Kingdom
- Dependent on experience
-
Security Operations engineer / Analyst with Tanium for a 12 month contract. Experience configuring using, managing, supporting troubleshooting Tanium's suite of end point solutions is essential. The opportunity is due to a client expanding its international capability to a follow the sun model. To be involved in spinning up a European capability. Based in the UK. English essential and ideally being fluent in French.