Cyber security in the boardroom: UK plc at risk

Cyber security isn’t a new issue. At CGI we’ve been helping to protect the UK’s critical national infrastructure, government and some of the country’s largest companies for over 40 years – since the outset of computing. However, what certainly is new is the rapidly growing business dependence on networked systems and the Internet, coupled with the rapidly evolving cyber security threat landscape and the amount that is at stake for companies in today’s digital-first world.

CGI UK commissioned and directed the Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr) in partnership with Opinium Research to survey 150 C-level and boardroom business leaders from the UK’s largest companies (1,000+ employees) across commercial sectors. Primary research was carried out over a two month period from December 2015 to January 2016. The data was then subjected to sophisticated economic modelling by Cebr to identify the relative risk profile for industry sectors.

Key findings of the research:

• Over a third of C-suite executives believe a cyber security breach will affect their organisation in the next 12 months
• In the wake of high-profile cyber breaches like Talk Talk with 81 per cent confirming such incidents have heightened scrutiny.
• The average cost of a breach is estimated at £1.2m, although damage to a brand’s reputation causes C-suite executives the most concern.
• 68% of boards plan to rely more on external cyber security consultants