Many senior leaders believe their cybersecurity chiefs are failing to accurately articulate levels of risk , indicating a lack of trust between executives and security teams that could ultimately leave organisations vulnerable to attack .

In the study , CISO Redefined : Navigating C-Suite Perceptions & Expectations , 93 % of UK and Irish leaders surveyed see cybersecurity as a top priority for their organisation – with over 80 % of organisations seeing increased demands to demonstrate cyber-readiness and preparedness .

In light of this , the vast majority ( 81 %) of UK organisations are increasing the decision-making powers of their CISO .

However , there is evidence of a disconnect between senior leaders and security teams around cybersecurity risk with the perception among one in three executives that the CISO is making things sound better than they are .

“ As organisations navigate a regulatory and business environment that is pushing for greater board and leadership oversight of cybersecurity , robust engagement between senior leaders and CISOs will be essential to satisfy stakeholders that cybersecurity risk is being addressed at the top level of the organisation ,” said Kate Brader , Head of Crisis in the Strategic Communications segment at FTI Consulting .

“ Regular cybersecurity briefings , clear roles and procedures around incident response , together with robust testing of response plans can all help to build trust and confidence across the C-suite and cybersecurity teams .”

The study ’ s findings highlight the challenges organisations face , as various frameworks seek to standardise management of cybersecurity risk .

The UK ’ s draft cybersecurity governance code signals the top-down approach to cybersecurity that the government wants to see , while the US National Institute of Standards and Technology ’ s ( NIST ) Cybersecurity Framework was recently updated to include a governance function – which stipulates how cybersecurity should be integrated into an organisation ’ s broader risk management strategy .

Organisational alignment on cybersecurity risk is identified as an imperative requiring strong engagement between the CISO and senior leadership teams .

Orla Cox , Head of Cybersecurity Communications for EMEA in the Strategic Communications segment at FTI Consulting , said : “ This wider remit means that an effective CISO must build trust across business leaders , senior leaders and the board , and prioritise refining their communication skills as much as their technical skills .”

Additional key findings from the survey include :

• The vast majority of leaders believe that their CISOs require communications training , with more than half ( 53 %) flagging this as an immediate priority .

• Pressure on CISOs to demonstrate a return on investment is likely to increase with more than 86 % of organisations having increased their cybersecurity budget in the past 12 months .

• In contrast to the rest of the world , UK leaders were revealed as feeling the greatest pressure on cybersecurity from regulators , followed by customers and then investors . �

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