CS1707

editor's focus
TIME FOR A UNIFIED FRONT
CYBER SECURITY IS RARELY OUT OF THE NEWS THESE DAYS, WITH BUSINESSES AND ORGANISATIONS
EVERYWHERE SEEMINGLY UNDER ATTACK. A SHIFT IN ATTITUDE IS NOW AN IMPERATIVE
Where once it was the bigger boys
who saw themselves as the prime
targets for all-out attacks, that
threat level is now increasingly moving to
medium-sized organisations, who are also
seeing their capital, reputation and
intellectual property challenged by new and
insidious threats.
However, according to IT solutions and
managed services provider (MSP) EACS, while
many IT teams are taking steps to improve
their organisations' security posture, their
efforts are being hampered by an indifference
to the topic within the broader C-suite.
A report by the Economist Intelligence Unit
reveals a disconnect between the C-suite and
IT teams when it comes to prioritising cyber
prevention. Although cyber security ranked
as the number one priority for IT teams, it
languished in ninth place for the C-suite, far
behind things like business growth and new
customer acquisition.
For Kevin Timms, CEO of EACS, cybersecurity
can no longer just be seen as an issue
for the IT department to sort out - senior
management needs to become fluent in
the language of security, if they are to
improve the way that their companies
deal with threats.
"Cyber-attacks are rapidly growing in
both number and severity and, while that
is broadly recognised at all levels of the
organisations we speak to, there's still
a bit of a disconnect in the C-suite and a
lack of responsibility, a gap which seems
to be more distinct in medium-sized
businesses," Timms comments. "It is, of
course, to be expected that the C-suite is
focused on the business growth and to an
extent it is understandable that there's less
focus on cyber-security, because this is
a primary area of focus for IT teams.
"But the fact is that the success of a
business is increasingly contingent on its
ability to protect itself from cyber threats
and maintain the integrity of its data.
The two need to go hand-in-hand and,
without sufficient support at the highest
levels of a business, strong cyber-security
measures will struggle to take hold."
It's also important to remember that IT
security is not just about building a bigger
firewall, but the processes of the company
and a shift in attitude, he adds. "Everyone
within a business needs to think about what
they do on a day-to-day basis to make sure
they behave in a way that is beneficial to the
company as a whole; from the top down and
vice versa."
With the C-suite and IT teams working
collaboratively to understand the full impact
of a cyber-attack on the business and
outlining a full programme for prevention,
there will be a greater recognition of the
potential threats the business faces, Timms
argues. "Businesses need to dedicate time
and resources to the issue, which can be
achieved by enlisting the help of third parties
like managed service providers (MSP). By
partnering with MSPs with the experience
and expertise to deliver a comprehensive
cyber-security programme, the C-suite can
rest assured that their business has room
to grow, while the IT teams can focus on
business development, rather than worrying
about security."
www.computingsecurity.co.uk @CSMagAndAwards July/August 2017 computing security
07