Conclusion and recommendations

Just because data, skills and tools are within the remit of the organisation doesn’t automatically mean they are being addressed. An important step in cybersecurity and minimising other technology-associated risks is ensuring your own house is in order. Work with legal counsel to ensure the appropriate strategies and policies are in place, and take proactive measures to anticipate and manage problem areas.

Partnerships and dependencies will always involve a certain level of risk. Where second-party risk is difficult to manage or account for, it may be that a certain level of expected exposure is accounted for in risk planning.

C-suite can work with General Counsel and external legal support to make sure thorough due diligence is carried out and everyone is satisfied that compliance and regulations are being met. Consistently assessing the tech risk profile of relevant suppliers will offer additional peace of mind.

At the same time, given that network risk exposure is revealed to be lower than that from purely external and internal sources, business leaders may want to consider what practices they can take from their supply chain risk management to apply elsewhere in the organisation.

Investing and utilising new available technologies yourselves is the only way you’re going to be able to manage the complexities surrounding tech risk. Technologies can be used to support and enhance your compliance team, which will be key in building resilience and a strong corporate performance in the new riskonomy.

Technology will continue to evolve rapidly, and investigating new opportunities can help organisations secure a competitive advantage. However, business leaders will need to stay alert to the associated challenges and consider implementing policies or safeguards even for tech they are not yet adopting.

Accepting that regulations will constantly change and evolve is the first step in being able to get ahead. Utilising experts with knowledge in specific jurisdictions and sectors will enable you to understand where they differ and how they impact your business. A solid foundation will act as a huge accelerator as organisations look to grow and expand into new and different markets.

Conducting a cyber health check will be hugely valuable. It provides a safe place for individuals and teams to understand their roles in times of crisis, as well as identify any risks or holes in your strategy before it is too late. Scenario planning can help business leaders develop their preferred approaches to heightened situations, enabling them to act more quickly in the event of an incident, potentially reducing financial and reputational loss.