Gone are the days when Chief Financial Officers solely had to focus on managing their organization’s financial risks. These days, CFO's need to think about the costs of cyber security, along with the costs associated with not having enough of it. When their security tools are inadequate or threats go unnoticed, there is an increased risk of incidents that can cost thousands or millions of dollars in repairs, lost business and reputation. CFO's need to apply new strategies when it comes to tackling cyber risks.

Work With the Chief Information Security Officer

According to recent data, 39 percent of IT workers don’t believe their Senior Management understands the impact that a security breach could have on their company’s reputation. CFO's should become active members of their security teams, instead of passive observers, in an effort to protect their revenue with a more focused and effective cyber security plan. The most effective partnerships involve weekly cyber exposure reviews with management and IT.

Invest in IT

A recent report found that firms that invest more in IT security experience an average of 6.8 fewer breaches and save more than $5 million. With the growing number of available devices that employees can use to stay connected and do their jobs, new approaches are needed to deal with increased cyber exposure that may have been more easily contained in the past.

Be Accountable

CFO's need to realize how cyber risk affects financial risk. According to a recent study by Ponemon Institute, data breaches result in an average stock price decline of 5 percent and an average revenue decline of $3.4 million. CFO's cannot manage risks of that magnitude by themselves. It is in the best interest of the entire company if its CFO partners with others in the organization who have a vested interest in managing cyber risk.

 Things to Know

These days, CFO's need to think about the costs of cyber security as well as the costs associated with not having enough of it.

The Trump Administration released rules on disclosing cyber flaws. New rules explain how the Vulnerabilities Equities Process will function and whether to disclose cyber security flaws or keep them secret.

Just like 2016, 2017 was not without its share of cyber security incidents—incidents that impacted companies of all sizes and affected multiple industries. This article lists some of the biggest cyber security disasters of 2017.

Protecting your data protects the future of your business.

Contact Carriage Trade Insurance to learn more about our Cyber Liability Insurance options.