Planning your cyber risk management

 

The benefits of living in the digital age are hard to deny. The rate at which the world’s businesses have adapted to the collection and analysis of data has been unprecedented – whether for communication purposes, access to information and even marketing strategies.

With such a heavy reliance on digital content in almost all industries, it’s little surprise that new risks and threats have arisen. In fact, a recent survey of the capital markets sector by management consultants Accenture found that 58 per cent of respondents expected threats of cybercrime to become more severe in the coming years. Preparing yourself for these breaches is now an essential part of strategic planning.

How to guard against cybercrime

While television shows and movies may romanticise cybercriminals somewhat, often making them seem like exciting, hyper-intelligent characters, in reality the majority of breaches come down to basic security failures. According to the Institute of Risk Management, around 80 per cent of cyberattacks would be swiftly defeated with the simplest security measures.

Part of doing business in the digital era involves shielding your organisation from cybercrime, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be difficult or expensive. Making sure your IT staff are well-resourced and trained to keep your data security robust is the most important step, however protecting yourself against a breach should also involve regularly backing up your valuable data and keeping your software updated. It’s generally agreed that criminals move quickly to exploit security holes, so your organisation needs to maintain the same level of agility.

Keeping up with the criminals

Being able to defend your organisation against cyber threats is likely to contribute to your organisational health as a whole. Moving quickly to address potential security issues before they can develop into legitimate problems can save a lot of frustration and expense down the line.

A survey of 161 businesses by McKinsey & Company found that only 12 per cent fell into the ‘agile’ category, with each of them scoring much higher when it came to organisational health. Whatever industry your organisation operates in, it’s necessary to keep things running smoothly in order to achieve growth.

Having a sophisticated cybercrime defense has become a key part of modern strategy mapping. To keep track of how your organisation’s objectives are progressing, the right software can make a wealth of difference. Talk to StrategyBlocks today, and build your vision for the future.