INFOGRAPHIC
Trend Micro study reveals urgent need for new way to discuss business risk
Trend Micro , a global cybersecurity leader , has announced new research revealing that 90 % of IT decision makers claim their business would be willing to compromise on cybersecurity in favor of Digital Transformation , productivity or other goals .
Additionally , 82 % have felt pressured to downplay the severity of cyber-risks to their board .
“ IT leaders are self-censoring in front of their boards for fear of appearing repetitive or too negative , with almost a third claiming this is a constant pressure . But this will only perpetuate a vicious cycle where the C-suite remains ignorant of its true risk exposure ,” said Bharat Mistry , of Trend Micro .
The research reveals that just 50 % of IT leaders and 38 % of business decision makers believe the C-suite completely understand cyber-risks .
Although some think this is because the topic is complex and constantly changing , many believe the C-suite either doesn ’ t try hard enough ( 26 %) or doesn ’ t want ( 20 %) to understand .
There ’ s also disagreement between IT and business leaders over who ’ s ultimately responsible for managing and mitigating risk . IT leaders are nearly twice as likely as business leaders to point to IT teams and the CISO . A total of 49 % of respondents claim that cyber-risks are still being treated as an IT problem rather than a business risk .
“ We need to talk about risk in a way that frames cybersecurity as a fundamental driver of business growth – helping to bring together IT and business leaders who , in reality , are both fighting for the same cause .”
This friction is causing potentially serious issues : 52 % of respondents agree that their organization ’ s attitude to cyber-risk is inconsistent and varies from month to month .
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