Business leaders, security officers need to bridge cybersecurity communication gap

Singapore leaders feel the greatest pressure on cybersecurity compared to the rest of the world.

As cyber-attacks become more rampant, C-suite executives and their security leaders must address the lack of proper communication in reporting the real cybersecurity risks their organizations might be facing, according to FTI Consulting.

FTI Consulting in a recent study showed over one-third of C-suite executives in Singapore feel their cybersecurity leaders are not reporting security risks and vulnerabilities of the organisation.

This, despite having 88% of the respondents admit cybersecurity as a critical priority for their businesses. 

While the communication gap is still looming over businesses, the majority of organisations have already taken action to mitigate cybersecurity risks by upping budget allocation to information security functions (90%), increasing cybersecurity on the board’s agenda (87%) as well as raising security from media over cybersecurity and data privacy preparedness (86%).

C-suite executives believe board and cybersecurity leaders could improve response and understanding of cybersecurity threats, with 35 of respondents saying information security officers can improve responses to threats through proactive review of an incident response plan.

Meanwhile, 37% shared concern for senior leadership’s understanding of cybersecurity risks in the past 12 months.

“A lack of cybersecurity preparedness, including the ability for clear, consistent, and transparent communications between executives and cybersecurity leaders within an organisation, can be ultimately detrimental to that organisation’s bottom line,” Eli Serota, head of cybersecurity and data privacy communications in Asia, said. “Bridging the gap in trust and communication between these parties is imperative to protecting normal business operations.”

Clear and proper communication between leaders is becoming increasingly important since cyber-attacks on businesses spread already beyond workplaces. In the hybrid work era, 88% of businesses reported increased security threats associated with remote work. A third of executives feel cybersecurity leaders are hesitant to report any security risks.

The report revealed that Singapore business leaders feel the most pressure compared to the rest of the world regarding cybersecurity threats, mostly from customers, followed by investors and then investors.

The study surveyed 787 C-suite executives in large companies globally.