Undoubtedly, cyber threats are everywhere. A survey reveals that CFO is the most prominent figure ‘responsible for cybersecurity (38%), followed by the CIO at 36%’.
Actions a CFO Takes against Data Breach and Cyber Threats?
The survey also reports the measures a CFO takes to counter cyber threats:
- Charts Out and Classifies Data: A modern CFO understands the functions of data supply chain, identifies the information flow through their company’s extended ecosystem, and scrutinizes data privacy across the channels. Through data mapping, a CFO identifies what data assets to protect from data breach.
- Organizes a Vulnerability Test: A CFO conducts vulnerability assessments and penetration tests to understand the company’s intrinsic risk factors and ways for intruders to enter the system. This process is repeatedly done to keep the company stay at the top of its security.
- Develops a Response Plan: A CFO develops an incident response plan to prevent any breach in the first incident. This is done by creating an incident response team including HR, accounting, R&D, IT, data security officer, and even vendors and partners having access to sensitive information.
- Conducts a Close Vendor Evaluation: Vendors and third-party partners pose the greatest threat. A CFO evaluates the cyber security measures of vendors and their information management processes to determine how well the data is protected.
- Conducts Outsider’s Data Breach Test: No matter what measures one takes, a company cannot evaluate the weakest point by itself. Therefore, hiring an outsider firm to conduct a genuine vulnerability test by attempting a data. Based on the report, a CFO can prepare a risk profile and identify the vulnerable points of a company.
- Stays Updated About Compliance Issues: A CFO always considers compliance issues and devises best practices to ensure it.
- Develops a Cyber threat Risk Management Strategy: A CFO optimizes the risk management strategy related to cyber security by managing cyber-investments to counter cyber threats. He understands the value of investing in data security as an important measure of protecting brand value for the company. He effectively communicates with data security teams to make them understand how a phishing attack can be detrimental to their company. In what ways, it can appear and how to handle it tactically to protect sensitive data.
Modern CFOs are now part of the cybersecurity measures as they have unique position from where they can monitor ins and outs of a company. They ensure that the risks and investments are relative to the cybersecurity and cybersecurity aligns to the business strategy. This would mean that CFO report to board, the cybersecurity initiatives and gets a buy in on necessary cyber investments.
Therefore, it is quite critical for CFOs to stay on top of cybersecurity issues and take practical measures to counter any data breaches or cyber threats in the first attempt.
The author of this article is finance professional with 20+ years of experience. If you need to reach out, do write us back at support@growiseadvisors.com