Where does responsibility for cyber attacks lie

Recently VMware released a statement detailing their views on where responsibility lies, for cyber attacks, inside of a company.

This new research launched by VMware shows that more responsibility for cyber attacks is being placed on the CEO than ever before. In fact:

• Over a quarter (29%) of UK IT decision makers and office workers believe the CEO should be held accountable for a significant data breach
• 38% of office workers and 40% of IT decision makers believe the board should be most aware of the necessary actions to take following a significant data breach, whilst 53% of office workers and 40% of IT decision makers believe it should be the CEO

However, this accountability is not currently translating into senior leadership’s priorities: a quarter (24%) of organisation expect to be hit by a serious cyber attack in the next 90 days, yet only 5% of UK corporate leaders consider cyber security a priority for their business

The survey of 500 UK office workers and 250 IT decision makers has revealed that cyber security needs to become part of a wider business discussion, sooner rather than later, as organisations could face potentially irrevocable damage including loss of intellectual property, competitive positioning and customer data.