There are growing disparities in how CEOs and CISOs view the most effective cybersecurity path forward, according to Forcepoint.
The global survey of 200 CEOs and CISOs from across industries including healthcare, finance and retail, among others, uncovered prominent cybersecurity stressors and areas of disconnect for business and security leaders, including the lack of an ongoing cybersecurity strategy for less than half of all CEO respondents.
The research also identified disparities between geographic regions on data protection as well as a digital transformation dichotomy battle between increased risk and increased technology capability.
Key findings
Most leaders (76%) are losing sleep over the prospect of becoming the next headline-grabbing security breach
This is despite a high percentage (87%) believing that their security team is consistently ahead of cybersecurity threats
This disparity is compounded by a belief that senior leadership is cyber-aware and data-literate (89%) and focused on cybersecurity as a top organizational priority (93%)
Cybersecurity strategies are seen by 85% of executives as a major driver for digital transformation, yet 66% recognize the increased organizational exposure to cyber threats because of digitization
Only 46% of leaders regularly review their cybersecurity strategies
“When more than 89% of leaders believe their teams are more cyber-aware than ever, it’s not surprising to hear executives are losing sleep over their cybersecurity posture today because they know the stakes to their business are so high,” said Nicolas Fischbach, Global CTO of Forcepoint. “At a time when cybersecurity is more strategic to business growth than ever before, it is time senior business and security leaders reassess their cybersecurity strategy to one that enables them to move left of breach.
