Chief Financial Officers aka CFOs are ignoring billions of dollars loss incurred through cyber risks and threats, says a survey. Interestingly, over 87% of survey respondents are over-confident that their companies can overcome any level of threats, although their current Cybersecurity posture was never tested to the core.
The survey conducted financial risks evaluator Kroll states that in the past few months, beginning this year of 2022, over 71% of organizations suffered over 5 million financial losses that emerged from cyber risks and 33% of them suffered repetitive incidents.
Contrarily, 66% of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) felt that their IT infrastructure was super vulnerable to cyber attacks, as they were ill prepared to encounter them- all due to budget constraints.
So, experts want the CFOs to stay in a loop with the board to understand the risks and severity involved in cyber attacks. This can help them involve in planning multi-layer security and advise audit committees involved in crisis and mitigation planning.
CFOs also should take part in simulations and training conducted by companies meant to evaluate their cyber security strengths and susceptibilities- as a part of the proactive security approach. So, as to understand the investment strategies, expenditure and risks involved in evading budget allotment to cyber incidents.
Kroll also reiterated on the fact of cyber insurance being presented as a silver bullet to solve all cybersecurity risks. But as not all companies are ready to entertain and invest in the insurance premiums and deductions, it doesn’t seem to be as a viable solution in practical.
So, how CFOs should respond to such situations?
It’s simple! Just help the board understand the need to bolster cybersecurity and engage them in allotting a fair amount of budget to the much expected field. Embracing regulatory trends can also help in keeping the company’s digital assets out of situational trouble. And joining forces with CISOs in crafting security strategies in align with the investment perspective will also make sense.
