The changing role of the board on cybersecurity

The phrase ‘cyber everywhere’ has never been more powerful than it is in today’s world of digitisation. Cyber is rapidly moving beyond the four walls and encompassing every aspect of an organisation’s operations.
The pandemic led to vast amounts of sensitive data being exchanged digitally, and the world saw a surge of cyber breaches, both in India and abroad. Cybersecurity oversight has now become the most important topic for the Board after strategic planning.

This POV shares insights on the role of the Board in cybersecurity conversations and enumerates a few ways to create a strong ecosystem to enable cybersecurity decisions at the Board level. To truly build a cybersecurity tone at the top, it is crucial for the Board to have visibility and oversight of cybersecurity instances in the organisation. The POV also contains a ready reckoner that can be used to introspect on whether cybersecurity is getting the importance it deserves at the Board level.