Security News > 2022 > September > CFOs’ overconfidence in cybersecurity can cost millions

Kroll announced its report Cyber Risk and CFOs: Over-Confidence is Costly which found chief financial officers to be woefully in the dark regarding cybersecurity, despite confidence in their company's ability to respond to an incident.

This is at odds with the level of visibility CFOs have into cyber risk issues, given only four out of 10 surveyed have regular briefings with their cyber teams.

71% of the represented organizations suffered more than $5 million in financial losses stemming from cyber incidents in the previous 18 months, and 61% had suffered at least three significant cyber incidents in that time.

Forty-five percent of respondents plan to increase the percentage of their overall IT budget dedicated to information security by at least 10%. "Greg Michaels, Global Head of Cyber Governance and Risk in the Cyber Risk practice at Kroll, said:"We often see that CFOs are not aware enough of the financial risk presented by cyber threats until they face an incident.

"Ultimately, cyberattacks represent a financial risk to the business, and incidents can have a significant impact on value. It is critical that this is included in wider business risk considerations. A CFO and CISO should work side-by-side, helping the business navigate the operational and financial risk of cyber."

David Ball, Managing Director in the Valuation Advisory Services practice at Kroll, said: "Cyber incidents have the potential to cause material damage or impairment to the assets of a company, particularly intangible assets, including intellectual property, customer relationships and brand. It is important for CFOs to understand the impact of cyber incidents on these assets and be in a position to assess and quantify the financial impact and potential risks to the company."

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/14/cfos-cybersecurity-confidence/