Boardroom blame game after cyber attacks, finds survey

Company executives and their IT departments both think the other is responsible after suffering a cyber attack, research has revealed.

The BAE Systems survey found that around half of boardrooms say IT teams are responsible in the event of a data breach, while over two thirds of IT decision-makers think senior management and leaders should shoulder the blame.

Those surveyed in Australia were the most realistic globally when it came to cyber security, according to the survey, with 73 per cent of C-suites and 77 per cent of IT chiefs thinking a serious attack on their organisations was only a matter of time. This compares to 57 per cent of C-suites globally.

The local executives were also the most likely to believe their business was well-equipped to prevent an attack, at 97 per cent, versus 84 per cent globally.

Australia is the only market where C-suites estimate the cost of a serious, successful cyber-attack to be higher than their IT staff.

“Our findings make it clear that boardrooms and IT teams recognise the risks, but also highlights the disparity of opinion between both groups when it comes to these threats and provides an opportunity for malicious actors to exploit,” said Alex Taverner, Asia-Pacific head of commercial cyber services at BAE Systems.

“With the threats constantly evolving, successful cyber-attacks regularly making headline news, and a growing compliance burden such as the new data breach notification laws, organisations need to ensure the boardroom and IT teams are working in unison to narrow gaps in understanding, intelligence and responsibility to build a robust defence,” he added.

The survey also found that 57 per cent of C-Suite executives viewed cyber security as the most significant challenge their business is facing, 73 per cent believed they’d be attacked in the next year and more than three quarters weren’t confident they have all the necessary skills in place to deal with a successful attack.