TAKING CYBERSECURITY BEYOND A COMPLIANCE TICK BOX
DIGITAL DISRUPTION
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This year , UK businesses have faced a series of regulatory demands , including the much talked about GDPR , which came into effect on 25 May . Compliance has now become a key boardroom issue – with fines for GDPR breaches set at 4 % of annual turnover or € 20mn , whichever is greater .
But this has also introduced new IT security challenges ; businesses have had to improve their processes for reporting breaches and justify how they collect and store data . In response , business leaders are having to demonstrate that they have cybersecurity policies , procedures and skills in place to survive beyond what is being dubbed , “ the year of regulation ”. Equally , there must also be a longer-term lens as businesses look to the future . The complexity of cyberattacks is increasing and analysts predict that there will be 3mn unfilled jobs in cybersecurity worldwide by 2021 . Employers must battle for the right skills to ensure their business is safe and compliant .
Despite this imperative , research reveals that demand for IT security staff dropped by 5 % in the past year ( from Q4 2016 to Q4 2017 ). The report showed that , despite a 24 % year-on-year ( Q4 2016 – Q4 2017 ) increase in the demand for short term IT Security contractors , there was a 10 % decrease in demand for the larger market of permanent staff . With this apparent disconnect between the compliance and security imperative , and the skills that organisations are investing in , it ’ s important that cybersecurity is addressed first-hand in the boardroom .
Here are three key issues that senior executives must consider .
TAKING CYBERSECURITY BEYOND A COMPLIANCE TICK BOX
IT and security staff have , for many years , been primarily focused on the protection of the technology , data and infrastructure , but to meet the stringent new GDPR requirements have had to broaden their scope and consider
AUGUST 2018