The misalignment between the C-suite and IT security department during digital transformation may significantly increase cyber risks
Digital transformation is crucial but should be embraced with caution. Lately, organizations have encountered significant cyber issues due to the rapid implementation of IoT, shadow IT, and cloud providers.
Inefficient deployment of technologies, without proper integration, may leave gaps and cause vulnerabilities. The misconfiguration between the C-suite and IT security professionals could lead to more risks than benefits.
Reliance on third parties increased due to digital transformation
In a survey conducted by Helpnetsecurity.com, 63% of the participants stated that organizations are faced with the difficulty to ensure a safe and secure cloud platform. Fifty-four percent of the IT leaders stated that managing and preventing data breaches has proven to be a challenge.
Clearly, dependence on third-party vendors providing services like shadow IT, cloud, and IoT has significantly risen; the majority of the organizations however do not employ third-party cyber-risk management teams or software.
Cyber risk increased due to non-involvement of IT security professionals
IT security has very low-to-no involvement during digital transformation. As per the above-mentioned survey, CIOs feel that misalignment of resources has resulted in at least one data breach due to the digital transformation. Fifty-five percent of the IT leaders stated that the breach occurred due to a third-party vendor.
CIOs state that it is tough to ensure that third-party vendors apply policies that provide adequate data security.
Misalignments between IT security and C-suite
Differing priorities between C-suite and IT Security, lead to higher liabilities and risk. Often, the two areas of management and IT security have differing views on the importance of securing high-value assets and risk areas.
IT security professionals state that the rush to develop and deploy apps, the sudden increase in Shadow IT utilization are the major causes of liabilities due to digital transformation.
CIOs however opine that the rise in outsourcing and migration to the cloud has resulted in security incidents. Security measures preferred by IT professionals like the open business model and free flow of data are not supported by the majority of the C-level professionals.
Also Read: Miscommunication Among the C-Suite – a Reason for Higher Cyber Risk?
Reduced and inadequate budgets
In the survey, only 35% of the CIOs stated that their organization had a sufficient budget for digital transformation and security of data assets. The rest of the respondents said that the allocated budget was insufficient for proper and secure digital transformation.
CIOs believe that due to the increased risk driven by digital transformation, the IT budget should ideally be increased from the current average of 21% to 37%. As part of the survey, conducted by Helpnetsecurity.com Dave Stapleton, CISO, CyberGRX stated that digital transformation of organizations will be imperative in the coming days, hence firms should consider the implications and work to build resources in a way to counter the risk of cyberattacks.
IT security teams should be intricately involved in the transformation process to identify potential vulnerabilities. They will be required to create strategies and train colleagues to identify and prevent cyber-security risk.
Senior leadership and security professionals need to unite
C-level executives and IT security professionals need to collaborate. This will act as the key to the digital transformation process which will be both secure and efficient. CIOs need to be aware of the vulnerabilities resulting due to third-party vendors. They will be required to invest in technology and personnel who secure and protect assets and data.
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