Optimizing Your Cyber Resilience Strategy Through CISO and CRO Connectivity

Optimizing Your Cyber Resilience Strategy Through CISO and CRO Connectivity
Cyber Labs

02 of 20

This insight is part 02 of 20 in this Collection.

November 11, 2024 6 mins

Optimizing Your Cyber Resilience Strategy Through CISO and CRO Connectivity

Optimizing Your Cyber Resilience Strategy Through CISO and CRO Connectivity

Combining forces between the Chief Information Security Officer and the Chief Risk Officer may better prepare your business for cyber challenges and provide a comprehensive insight into the exposures of the business.

The severity and operational impact of cyber-attacks is at an all-time high, forcing organizations to modify their existing strategy and tactical approach to cyber resilience. According to Forrester’s most recent report “Lessons Learned From The World’s Biggest Data Breaches And Privacy Abuses,” by the end of 2023, attackers exploited over 1.5 billion customer or citizen records, and regulatory bodies levied over $2.6 billion of fines for incidents and privacy violations that took place during or before 2023.”

In response, the demand from internal and external stakeholders seeking to better understand the company’s cyber risk profile and effectiveness of proactive security controls is also at an all-time high. Increased collaboration between technical resources like the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and risk-minded leaders such as the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) is recommended to understand and align on how to highlight key strengths or mitigating controls and prioritize the most critical security improvement initiatives.

Historically, these organizational roles have often operated independently. However, the CRO’s understanding of financial risks and how premium-bearing control gaps affect cyber insurance coverage and the CISO’s knowledge of cyber threats and how protective controls are implemented can dramatically shape how the organization is prepared and protected. This unified approach can create a more realistic picture of the organization, allowing the board and executive leadership teams to better understand its true cyber risk footprint and make better decisions on how and where to invest capital to mitigate impact from potential incidents.

As the cyber threat landscape changes due the introduction of new threat surfaces from AI-driven solutions, ever-increasing sophistication of attacks, and pressure from regulatory bodies, unexpected insurance losses and payouts have added to the complexity of insurance and cyber risk. Reactively, many markets are now taking a much closer look at organization’s cybersecurity controls and running technical scans of potential insureds to get a much deeper understanding of their potential risk which complicates the process of underwriting coverage. The CRO is expected to demonstrate a sound proactive security approach, and to do so, effectively needs input from the CISO role. With the CRO’s focus on improving risk transfer insurance outcomes and the CISO’s focus on budget approval for cybersecurity initiatives, it is imperative in today’s cyber landscape that they come together to shape and communicate how the organization is prepared and protected.

Other parts of a business can also help bring the CISO and CRO together to support cyber security. By example, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) often oversees the functions of CROs and CISOs. When these two roles work together to paint an accurate picture of how investing in adequate cyber controls translates to mitigating financial impact from cyber-attacks or limitations in coverage, they can encourage other senior leaders and stakeholders to be more proactive in supporting critical initiatives.

This is also true of Data Protection Officers or their equivalent, who are facing mounting pressures from new cybersecurity requirements from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), international legislation like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), individual state privacy requirements, countries and even industries which have their own regulatory requirements surrounding data protection and cybersecurity. These regulatory requirements are also prompting businesses to reassess what they know about cyber risk and how they approach it through reporting and internal strategies.

Though the needs of certain industries may inspire closer collaboration between these critical stakeholders, a unified approach to cybersecurity is important for all businesses. While healthcare, retail and financial industries have historically been primary targets due to the amount of sensitive data held, the rise of ransomware has been a game changer, paving the way for cyber-attacks in every industry class. Every organization is a potential target, and the need for a strong foundation of cyber controls has never been more important.

These two roles will face the same scrutiny of cyber controls from different stakeholders, but ultimately need the same outcome, which is to lower the organization’s cyber risk. The CISO is working to lower the risk profile and implement controls that meet or exceed cyber security frameworks or guidance in order to protect the business from attacks. Improvements that IT and security teams make to lower the attack surface and better protect an organization’s data and infrastructure is success story that the CRO should be able to understand and articulate during placement discussions. This cohesive approach to cyber security may optimize coverage outcomes while also minimizing financial and reputation risks.

Combining forces to better prepare for cyber challenges will provide a comprehensive insight into the exposures of the business, enabling better controls, responsiveness, and the ability to acquire the right coverage solutions, protecting the business from present and future exposures.

Aon’s Thought Leader
  • Jenifer White Visek
    Vice President of Proactive Cyber Solutions

About Cyber Solutions:

Aon’s Cyber Solutions offers holistic cyber risk management, unsurpassed investigative skills, and proprietary technologies to help clients uncover and quantify cyber risks, protect critical assets, and recover from cyber incidents.

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