CEO Today - November 2021

VISION & STRATEGY www.ceotodaymagazine.com 42 Alongside this, four in 10 surveyed say they are facing a skills gap in data protection. A quarter of them states this means the business they work for isn’t as secure as it needs to be and that their organisation is not adhering to necessary legislation. These statistics are shocking. They show how vulnerable organisations could be – to both cyber threats, and monetary fines. As a business leader, it’s essential to sit down with teams to understand first-hand where knowledge gaps currently exist and create a plan of action to plug these are soon as possible. IT teams must feel confident and trust that senior leaders will listen when they raise concerns on how skills gaps are impacting the business. Bi-annual planning meetings can provide an opportunity to review skills across the business and get this conversation flowing. This allows senior leaders to map out the expertise in the business and identify the current gaps, working with IT teams to develop a strategy that considers upskilling staff, hiring new team members and outsourcing to external experts. It’s important to show a willingness to learn about new skills yourself too. Engaging and taking an interest in understanding the impact and possibilities of new tech on the business will show teams that this is a business issue you’re taking seriously. Upskilling – create competitive advantage in an uncertain future Fortunately, while there is a clear skills gap IT teams do understand the importance of sound cybersecurity practices. More than three-quarters of those asked say it is either the top priority for their business or within the top three. However, our survey found Cyber attacks surged during the pandemic as hackers took advantage of increased digital activity, with over 5,200 data breaches confirmed globally in 2021 so far, a sharp increase on the 3,950 reported in 2020. Add to this stringent data protection laws and significant monetary fines, and it’s a combination that can leave businesses, in the UK and internationally, extremely vulnerable. It’s not enough to be aware of the risks. Businesses must instead act to ensure sound cybersecurity knowledge is in place to react to ever-evolving threats. Further, strong knowledge in data protection is vital to adhere to any necessary legislation. With these issues potentially leading to a damaged reputation, as well as loss of business, customer confidence and critical business data, there is no doubt that these should be at the forefront of business priority lists globally. At IONOS Cloud, we wanted to better understand the current challenges businesses are facing in the wake of the pandemic, and where cybersecurity and data protection standards are actually sitting on business IT priority lists. To uncover insights, we commissioned research, conducted by Censuswide, to poll over 600 UK IT decision-makers to collate their views and attitudes. Identify your business’s skills gaps Our survey found over 40% of IT decision- makers admit to their business having a cybersecurity skills gap. A third (34%) of them say this is putting their organisation at risk of security threats. When asked, the top concerns facing IT decision- makers included increased DDoS attacks, phishing and scams as well as employees downloading unapproved apps and not storing data correctly.