CEO Concerns Highlighted in New Cybersecurity Report from Accenture

Kamso Oguejiofor-Abugu
Published on: October 12, 2023

A new report from Accenture has unveiled a disconnect between CEO perceptions of cybersecurity and their organizations’ readiness against cyber threats. Despite 96% of CEOs affirming the critical nature of cybersecurity for organizational growth and stability, a staggering 74% lack confidence in their organizations’ ability to protect the business from a cyberattack, the report says.

Accenture’s report, titled “The Cyber-Resilient CEO,” analyzed responses from 1,000 CEOs representing large organizations (revenues > US$1 billion) worldwide. Notably, the research exposed the reactionary approach CEOs commonly adopt towards cybersecurity, potentially increasing the vulnerability to attacks and increasing subsequent mitigation costs.

“Almost half (44%) of CEOs don’t view cybersecurity as a strategic business matter and said it requires episodic intervention rather than ongoing attention, while 60% of CEOs said their organizations don’t introduce “security-by-design”—that is, cybersecurity is not baked into business strategies, specific services or products from the outset,” the report reads.

This mindset is further exemplified by the 54% of CEOs who erroneously believe that the upfront costs of implementing cybersecurity outweigh the financial repercussions of a cyber attack.

Accenture’s research further delineated CEOs into “cyber-resilient” and “cyber laggard” categories. The former, encompassing 5% of respondents, showcased superior cyber resilience, translating to quicker threat detection and considerably diminished breach costs. On the contrary, the “cyber laggards,” nearly 46% of CEOs, predominantly operated in a reactionary mode, leaving their organizations vulnerable.

The report culminated with five actionable insights aimed at fostering cyber resilience, which include:

• Embedding cyber resilience in the business strategy from the start.
• Establishing shared cybersecurity accountability across the organization.
• Securing the digital core at the heart of the organization.
• Extending cyber resilience beyond organizational boundaries and silos.
• Embracing ongoing cyber resilience to stay ahead of the curve.

You can read the full “The Cyber-Resilient CEO” report on the company’s website.

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• Source: https://www.safetydetectives.com/news/ceo-concerns-highlighted-in-new-cybersecurity-report-from-accenture/