BAE Study Finds Disparity in Views on Cyber Responsibility Between C-Suite, IT Leaders

A new study backed by BAE Systems says 50 percent of information technology leaders think that senior management teams should take responsibility in the event of a cyber attack and 35 percent of C-suite executives believe IT teams should be held responsible.

BAE said Thursday it commissioned market research firm Opinium to survey 984 IT decision makers and 221 C-level executives about their views on cybersecurity and their preparedness in the event of a breach.

“With successful cyber attacks regularly making headline news, our findings make it clear that the C-suite and IT teams recognize the risks but need to concentrate on bridging the intelligence gap to build a robust defense against this growing threat,” said Kevin Taylor, managing director of applied intelligence at BAE.

The study also found that C-suite respondents said their companies allocate 10 percent of their IT budget on cyber defense efforts, while IT leaders said their organizations spend 15 of their IT funds on cybersecurity initiatives.

Eighty-one percent of IT leaders said they are confident with their cyber defense capabilities compared with 84 percent of C-level executives.

IT respondents predict a cyber attack’s impact on their business to cost approximately $19.2 million compared with C-suite executives’ estimation of approximately $11.6 million.

The study also showed that 55 percent of C-level respondents said they intend to raise their cybersecurity spending in the coming year, while at least 80 percent of IT teams noted that their cyber spending is part of a comprehensive strategy.