Flybe / March 2019

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68 / Flight Time / MARCH 2019
Business Lesson
CTOs have an average tenure of only
14 months now. The UK has a serious
skills gap, with E-Skills UK predicting
the industry needs around 140,000 new
entrants each year to meet demand for
IT skilled workers. Yet this is falling
worryingly short, and as such the Higher
Education Statistics Agency has predicted
Britain will be short of 1.2 million IT
skilled workers if more isn’t done soon.
For businesses, this means that
retaining core technical staff is a
significant challenge. Many data
breaches are put down to a lack of
technical staff to manage network
security and infrastructure. A strong
cyber leader with extensive experience
in the industry however will evoke
respect and be able to create an
environment where cyber employees
want to stay. Further, they will provide
a clear leader who not only understands
the work they are doing but is also
focused on morale and staff satisfaction.
REPUTATION PROTECTED
As we have repeatedly seen over the
past few years, data breaches can, at
best, badly damage the reputation of
a company or result in large fines. At
worst, businesses have folded. Companies
that have a proactive approach to security
at the heart of the business are able to
protect their business’ reputation and
prevent a disastrous fallout.
Organisations must ensure they
have strong cyber leaders who can help
stakeholders understand what needs to
change and when an investment in new
infrastructure is sound. Being aware of
and reactive to cyber threats is essential in
order to protect modern companies and
retain key technical staff. Nowmore than
ever, it is essential to have a cyber leader.
6point6 is an independent, award-
winning technology consultancy
specialising in Big Data & Analytics,
Cyber Security, and Digital
Transformation.
he considerable number of
data breaches over the past
few years has thrown into
sharp relief the absolute
need for improved and increased cyber
security measures across enterprise as
a whole. Historically, the assumption
has been that responsibility for cyber
security lies with the CTO or CIO.
However, boards have long chosen
accountants or candidates with
corporate careers for these roles, despite
a lack of technical knowledge. This
practice has led to a knowledge deficit,
leaving companies too often vulnerable
to breaches. To combat this lack of cyber
understanding and protect businesses
as much as possible moving forward,
businesses need to introduce a cyber
leader, or CISO, to lead and develop all
cyber measures.
COSTS KEPT LOW
The costs associated with data breaches
are increasing exponentially every
year, exacerbated by the high level of
Taking the
cyber lead
T
PETER BARNSLEY, DIRECTOR OF CYBER
SECUR I T Y AT 6POINT6 , EXPLAINS WHY
CYBER LEADERS ARE AT THE HEART OF
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES
importance placed on personal data
by customers and businesses alike.
According to research by the Financial
Stability Board, the total annual cost of
cybercrime to small businesses in the
UK is £5.26bn. A knowledgeable CISO
will embed Information Assurance
(IA) and cyber security at all levels of a
business, thereby ensuring that security
is a collective responsibility across the
company. When cyber security and IA
are considered either during a project
build phase, or worse, at the delivery
point, businesses run the risk of not
having the required security measures in
place to go live. If this scenario does play
out, companies open themselves up to
the potential of increased data breaches
and huge fines for non-compliance with
data regulations.
RISK MANAGED EFFECTIVELY
With a required strong level of technical
understanding around risk management
and both current and future threats,
CISOs are able to provide invaluable
insight and support to the C-suite.
Businesses attempting to mitigate
risk will always have a better chance
of succeeding if they have access to
knowledge around what lies ahead in the
future from a security perspective.
Further, often the cost of a new
program or technological investment
can be seen as too big a hit to swallow
at once. CISOs are able to look beyond
the initial outgoings and explain the
real-business benefits; seeing the costs
as investments rather than outgoings.
The key factor here for them will be risk
versus reward. If the C-suite is making
such decisions without an experienced
or informed cyber leader, it is likely
they will make the wrong decision and
fall back on the traditional route of not
spending any money at all.
TECHNICAL STAFF RETAINED
Although retaining technical staff is
known to be infamously difficult, even