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How To Bridge The Gap Between IT And Business Leaders In Cybersecurity
As cybersecurity management is no longer confined to the IT department, it’s essential to bridge the gap between IT and business leaders. Cybersecurity is every team member’s responsibility as it impacts the entire organization. While team members may not be yearning for yet another training module to complete, aligning cybersecurity priorities with the business is critical.
IT colleagues may focus on technical aspects of cybersecurity, but leaders must comprehend how cybersecurity affects their departments. To protect the organization and its ability to achieve its mission, learn how to merge IT and business leaders together. When you do, you’ll integrate cybersecurity into the company’s strategies, organizational culture, and daily operations.
Here are four essential steps to bridge the gap:
1. Unravel cyber-speak into straightforward language
Before launching an internal initiative to overhaul your organization’s cybersecurity practices, prioritize education. Technical jargon of any type can feel overwhelming and make even the most intelligent person feel disconnected. Consider the business leaders you’re attempting to align with and reframe cybersecurity in a manner that resonates with their comfort zone. Financial executives may be more comfortable discussing ROI or value-based priorities. Leverage this understanding to align how cybersecurity risks can imperil shareholder value and consumer confidence if not prioritized.
Consider delivering engaging, smaller batches of education during weekly executive meetings. Resist the urge to dive too deeply into technical details. Instead, provide bite-sized updates that reinforce your most recent presentations. By doing so, you’ll foster a sense of urgency without overwhelming the audience with too much information.
2. Align cybersecurity risks with business risks
Fortunately, most people don’t think like hackers. However, understanding the global scale of cyber risk is crucial for leaders. IT leaders should break down the realities of cyber risk and how they can impact your organization, employees, and clients. Regulatory expectations will only escalate as cyber risk becomes a new frontier of crime.
Start with a more familiar risk, such as a data breach, that can become increasingly likely with open system access. Invite leaders to step into the minds of malicious actors and explain how system gaps and human oversight have a domino effect. While reactions may include fear, disbelief, and disregard, hold true to your expertise and convey the consequences of neglecting cybersecurity.
3. Build relationships to identify business leadership priorities and concerns
It’s difficult to comprehend what matters most to your business leaders if you don’t maintain regular conversations with them. Set a recurring meeting on the calendar to synchronize priorities and understand their worries. Keep the discussion general but strive to uncover what keeps them awake at night. Often, there is a cyber component to their anxieties and goals, and you can become an essential partner in their success.
Express your desire to leverage technology and cybersecurity best practices to align with their objectives. For instance, customer care teams frequently interact with sensitive customer data and personally identifiable information. This may spark a productive discussion about access to sensitive information and how that data is transferred internally.
Identify potential gaps, incorporate them into your security plan, and link them to the company’s strategic plan and objectives. By doing so, you’ll help align team priorities and secure buy-in from leaders for budget and strategy discussions.
4. Instill a cyber-aware organizational culture
Outside the boardroom exist dozens or even hundreds of people whose cybersecurity behaviors greatly impact the organization. Collaborate with your human resources team to integrate security education into employee expectations. Name a cybersecurity champion to guide education, training modules, and regular communication regarding cybersecurity best practices. Meet with department leads and frontline managers to engage them in your training goals.
As you did with the executive team, align how cybersecurity matters to their teams’ daily work. Invite them to collaborate on targeted training that can provide otherwise inaccessible insights. Ensure the sessions are accessible and simplify topics using humor and relatable scenarios to help modules stick. Incorporate knowledge checks to foster engagement and identify potential risks and gaps.
Layer education with in-person sessions, engaging activities, and online experiences to make learning enjoyable and relevant across the organization. Distribute responsibility for cybersecurity and achieve more by bringing your organization together to protect against threats to your mission and vision, as well as your teams’ well-being. Cybersecurity efforts support strategic business goals, and by putting forth the effort to align priorities, organizations can safeguard their assets.
By fostering relationships, building trust, and promoting shared goals, organizations can ensure a stronger, more resilient future.
Source: www.forbes.com
