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WHY CYBERSECURITY ACUMEN MATTERS IN THE C-SUITEWHY CYBERSECURITY ACUMEN MATTERS
IN THE C-SUITE

Until CEOs and boards prioritize learning more about mitigating threats,
organizations are leaving themselves and their businesses open to the potential
for disaster.

Erik Gaston, CIO & Vice President of Global Executive Engagement, Tanium

October 24, 2024

6 Min Read
Source: Stephen Barnes/Business via Alamy Stock Photo


COMMENTARY

With the mounting, competitive pressure to leverage generative artificial
intelligence (GenAI), now is the time for CEOs to better understand the
technology themselves.  

Cybersecurity deserves this same level of attention — and so does the
discrepancy between C-level enthusiasm and skill level. Leveraging AI tools,
cybercriminals and their attacks have become more sophisticated, and with this
technology comes a swath of security concerns when used in a company
environment. As GenAI use grows within organizations, so does tension across
executive teams and in the boardroom, especially as the chief information
security officer (CISO) role shifts in remit. We're also seeing significant
spikes in data breaches. All of this coalesces to signal the need for more
cybersecurity acumen across the C-suite in order to provide leadership and
guidance to firms.  



Why? Because enduring companies understand how to navigate one of the most
common and consequential risks in business.  


IMPROVED STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, AND COLLABORATION



Cybersecurity acumen at the top of the org chart can significantly impact the
company's overall security posture and ability to manage risk. This, in turn,
translates into several additional benefits for the company.  

For starters, companies can now integrate security into decision-making
processes and strategic direction. This should never be an afterthought.
Cyber-risk lurks everywhere and crops up in more decisions than people realize.
It's not just in overly simple passwords or opening phishing emails;
software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools can serve as an easy entry point for
man-in-the-middle attacks that threaten businesses. 



Leaders in 2024 must recognize the need for security. While businesses have
access to incredible levels of technology that can help a company thrive, so do
malicious actors. Understanding the variety of sources a threat can stem from
better equips a leader to make strategic choices that bolster the protection of
data and intellectual property, rather than put it at further risk.  



That said, security is not always cheap, and finding qualified resources in an
already scarce security and AI market is challenging at best. Resource
allocation is critical in the decision-making process to balance both attention
to threats and business costs. In today's economic climate, budgets are being
heavily scrutinized for technology and business leaders. Those with a broader
and deeper understanding of the risks that come with deprioritizing security are
better prepared to make smart decisions about where to allocate investments.  

Furthermore, attaining that kind of security knowledge intrinsically improves
leadership's ability to collaborate with all of the different internal teams.
These conversations drive quicker, better decisions, especially during a crisis,
while increasing the respect between the office of the chief information officer
(CIO) and the chief security officer (CSO). Enabling that sort of alignment will
also bring better, more articulate conversations with the board that protect
businesses against risk.  

Attack surfaces continue to grow for businesses in every industry, which only
makes transparency and collaboration more necessary. Regulators are rising to
the challenge of finding ways to deal with this new cyber reality, and the
pressure is mounting. You can see this in new rules and directives from the
Securities and Exchange Commission, and in regulations like the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA),
just to name a few. Noncompliance is costly both financially and in terms of
losing an opportunity to defend against attackers. But compliance requires
departments and leaders to communicate in order to create and execute new
strategies and policies.  



However, the burden of proof still falls to top leadership to make this happen.
It's in the C-suite's best interest and within its responsibilities to protect
data and assets as best it can for customers and the firm. Financial and
reputational impacts due to cyberattacks are a consideration that must be
recognized in all major decisions at the board level. The rising threat
landscape creates a perfect storm that, if left unchecked, leaves businesses
vulnerable to major loss.  


CREDIBILITY ALLOWS SENIOR LEADERS TO PERFORM BETTER ON THE JOB

Cybersecurity is a critical topic on every board's agenda as we continue to see
stories about threats sneaking through technological infrastructure and
impacting the customer experience on at scale. Leaders need the kind of "street
cred" to effectively lead a dynamic, smart organization of technologists and
operations professionals. Few have the kind of pointed knowledge to recommend,
lead, or drive change toward a more secure work culture — only making it that
much more critical.  

Those who can think technically while still demonstrating a business mindset
will be best positioned to help their organizations succeed. Some of the
strongest leaders and executives I have encountered are those who not only know
what they're talking about, but also have a keen ability to explain the "why" of
what they're talking about in terms that resonate with those who are unfamiliar
with the subject matter.  It is time for experts to direct the action instead of
"actors."  

In the words of one of my mentors: "Leaders have followers. Managers just tell
people what to do in a hierarchy." It's not enough to just know your stuff; you
need to be able to equip others with that knowledge as well. That's what makes
you indispensable as a leader. And with the average tenure of most cyber leaders
at less than a year and a half, those of us in these positions can't afford to
ignore that kind of reality. Commanding the space rather than putting yourself
in a situation where you're forced to react isn't just good for the business but
good for the leader, too.  




LEADERS CAN'T AFFORD TO IGNORE THE NEED FOR THIS KIND OF KNOWLEDGE

Cybersecurity acumen is no longer specialized or reserved for only the educated
few. This was reflected in a recent decision by the Securities and Exchange
Commission requiring companies to report a material breach within four days of
occurrence. While it did not specifically call for cybersecurity expertise in
the boardroom for public companies, it has long been highlighted that only a
small percentage of publicly traded companies have such expertise. Although the
mandate ultimately didn't pass, this is a proof point of how seriously agencies
and regulatory bodies are taking cybersecurity, and it is only a matter of time
before this becomes the official guidance.  

Prioritizing risk management and assessment must come from the top down. Until
CEOs and boards have prioritized learning more about these threats and how to
mitigate them, organizations are leaving themselves and their businesses open to
the potential for disaster. But the leaders who spend the time and effort to
study the game, the players, and the playbook toward better threat protection
will see the dividends for years to come. 

Read more about:

CISO Corner



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Erik Gaston

CIO & Vice President of Global Executive Engagement, Tanium

Erik Gaston is a chief information officer (CIO), vice president of global
executive engagement at Tanium. He hass spent most of his career as a CIO/CTO
(chief technology officer), leading large global organizations on Wall Street
and in the tech and software-as-a-service (SaaS) space. 

See more from Erik Gaston
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