According to Accenture, 96 per cent of CEOs recognise that cybersecurity is an essential factor for the growth, stability and competitiveness of organisations. However, most leaders feel insecure about their companies' ability to prevent or mitigate cyberattacks.
With rapidly evolving digital innovations, such as generative AI, the degree of complexity of cyberattacks is increasing. When asked about the factors that are creating cyber vulnerabilities for their organisations, CEOs identified the following:
- Technological innovation: More than half (52 per cent) of leaders rated the rapid pace of technological innovation as the main risk of cyberattacks. 86 per cent rate cyber trust and resilience for emerging technologies such as generative AI and quantum computing as highly relevant to their organisations.
- Supply chain disruption: Nearly half (51 per cent) of CEOs ranked the supply chain as the second biggest external risk. In this context, they highlighted the vulnerabilities of the value chain of global organisations.
- Environmental vulnerabilities: The vast majority (90 per cent) of the directors surveyed recognised the link and vulnerability of environmental changes and initiatives.
Recognising the critical role that cybersecurity plays in companies, Accenture leaves five recommendations for digital resilience:
- Strategy: Integrate cyber resilience into business strategy from the outset.
- Talent and culture: Establish shared responsibility for cybersecurity throughout the organisation.
- Technology: Protect the organisation's digital core.
- Ecosystems: Extend cyber resilience beyond organisational silos.
- Continuous resilience: Investing in cybersecurity on an ongoing basis to avoid and mitigate possible threats.
Read the full report here.