Last week financial executives received some valuable advice on ways to significantly reduce costs associated with an expensive non-budgeted item – cybercrime.
Greg Schaffer heads up DHS’s Office of Cybersecurity and Communications and his comments on cybercrime included:
“Cybercrime is not a problem that is growing, or coming, or off in the future. This is a problem right now.”
Mr. Schaffer also cited some statistics from reports and surveys:
- A single cyber breach costs companies an average of $6.75 million
- 27 countries have claimed to have experienced financial losses related to cybercrime
- In 2009, 30 million examples of new malicious software were released
Mr. Schaffer shared that there is a “disconnect” between corporate risk managers and information technology professionals. Mr. Schaffer also pointed out that most companies have kept risk management related to cybercrime in “a silo” within the IT department, rather than treating cybercrime as a risk the entire organization must address.
Mr. Schaffer had this advice too… because CFOs play an important role in enterprise risk management; CFOs have a responsibility to break down “silos” within an organization.
Do you have “silos” in your organization?
Of course you do! CFOs (along with CEOs, COOs, CROs, etc.) must become more proactive and prevention focused. CFOs must find better ways to break down silos and connect the dots before a cybercrime incident creates a huge hit on their bottom line.
