Is Cyber Risk On Your Leadership’s Radar?
Think about how seriously you take financial or legal risks: as a business, you protect your finances and stand ready with a tough legal team for any issues that may arise.
But do you support your cybersecurity in the same way?
Imagine facing your customers and admitting, “We got hacked because we didn’t prioritise cyber protection.” A single successful phishing attack targeted your finance team and now you’ve lost a hefty amount of revenue in a matter of minutes. It’s not just inconvenient; it’s a potential disaster.
Cyber Threats are Business Threats
Your data is all online, and that’s exactly what criminals are targeting. Ransomware, supply-chain attacks, or phishing campaigns are tailored to trick finance teams. These aren’t minor glitches. They’re threats to your entire operation.
Feryal Clark, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government, knows that cybersecurity needs to be supported by the government.
“Cybersecurity is essential to our economic strength and national resilience.”
Despite this, many UK businesses haven’t taken cyber risk as seriously as finance or legal risks. The government is sounding the alarm. New regulations like the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will require businesses to strengthen defences and tighten reporting.
Why Tech Decision-Makers Should Take the Lead
As the person buying your tech stack, you're not just picking tools; you’re setting the tone for security and business continuity. Every decision, from cloud platforms to IoT devices, either strengthens your organisation’s defences or opens new vulnerabilities.
75% of all businesses and 98% of large businesses consider cybersecurity a high priority. While that statistic is growing year over year, the number of companies that have specific board members responsible for cyber protection is just 30%.
This gap is dangerous. Financial or legal risks are never treated with such casual oversight.
A Governance Problem, Not Just an IT Problem
Just as you have a CFO oversee financial risks and a legal counsel for contracts, cyber risk needs to be visible at board level and not buried in IT.
The UK’s new Cyber Growth Action Plan is pushing for support and a change in mindset across businesses.
- Boosting jobs by growing the existing cyber sector in the UK
- Investing £16 million into cyber innovations and startups
- Creating recommendation throughout the year to figure out the best next steps for companies
Treating cyber as purely a technical issue is like leaving legal contracts unreviewed or budgets unaudited. It just doesn’t work.
How Tech Buyers Can Make a Difference
Align procurement with risk management
Ask the leadership tough questions
Don’t assume cybersecurity is on their radar. Does your leadership see cyber as a financial risk? Who’s accountable when things go wrong?
Make cyber part of enterprise risk management
