Creating a Successful Cybersecurity Culture: 10 Tips for the Board of Directors

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Building a robust cybersecurity posture requires a company-wide commitment fueled by the board of directors. Board members should prioritize and promote a sense of proactivity, understanding and preparedness to effectively recognize and respond to cyber threats on every organizational level.

Read on to understand why this matters and our tips for creating and maintaining a successful cybersecurity culture.

Why Should Boards Care About Cybersecurity?

Increasing reliance on digital information systems creates increased exposure to cyber attacks that can cause catastrophic operational damages, not limited to:

Supply chain interruptions
Disruption of services
Compromise of internal information
Reputational damages such as reduced/lost consumer trust
Negative media attention or reduced investor confidence
Economic damages (fraud, theft or ransom demands, incident response costs or revenue losses)

Boards must balance security controls, assessments and response plans with awareness and training programs to foster a culture of cybersecurity throughout the organization.

1. Understand the Role of the Board

Boards of directors have always been responsible for an organization’s oversight and governance: policy-making, risk management, resource allocation, communication, etc.

The modern board, however, must create a new perspective on cybersecurity, taking it from a topic of discussion to an element of every discussion of the company’s strategy, operations and culture.

This can be achieved by:

Embedding cybersecurity into the organization’s short- and long-term strategies.
Recognizing cybersecurity as a fundamental element of risk management.
Supporting policies aligning with threat profiles, company objectives and regulatory compliance.
Advocating for technical, financial, educational and human resources that support cybersecurity efforts at all levels.
Overseeing incident response plan development, testing and implementation.
Monitoring and reporting relevant changes in the cyber threat landscape.
Exploring external resources to broaden cyber threat awareness.
Confirming that outside vendors / suppliers are meeting cybersecurity standards.

A board’s proactive engagement in cybersecurity programs helps to safeguard an organization's assets, reputation and stakeholder interests.

Building a strong cybersecurity culture creates an environment that equips and empowers employees to recognize and mitigate risks.

These efforts increase productivity by reducing cyber attacks and streamlining incident response; enhance business reputation by fueling customer trust and investor confidence; and improve financial health by avoiding service disruptions and incident response and recovery costs.

2. Build Cyber Awareness and Education

At the core of any successful cybersecurity program is a focus on awareness and education. While people are the most important asset of any organization, they are also the most common vulnerability that may lead to a cyber attack.

A report by Verizon indicates that 74% of all breaches involve a human element, including error, privilege misuse, stolen credentials or social engineering. And findings of the World Economic Forum put that figure at 95% (Harvard Business Review).

Training programs, tabletop exercises and incident reviews provide a continual stream of education that builds awareness and fosters employee vigilance. Board members rarely participate in such activities, so they must pursue other means of staying informed about current and emerging cyber threats, regulations and industry best practices.

A few options for board-level continuing education include:

CISO and IT Briefings - regular updates from internal groups regarding existing programs, emerging threats, incident response and recovery, etc.
Cybersecurity Training - workshops led by external cybersecurity experts and tailored to provide insights that are relevant to the oversight and governance roles of the board.
Conferences and Forums - gatherings where industry leaders can share insights, compare experiences, discuss regulatory changes and update best practices to keep pace with the evolving cyber threat landscape.
Cybersecurity News and Intelligence Services - resources for organization-specific information about cyber threats, indications of compromise (IoCs) and threat actors' activity.

Boards with the most up-to-date cybersecurity information are the best equipped to guide their organization through the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape.

3. Set the Tone from the Top

Making cybersecurity a priority at the board level demonstrates that cybersecurity is a fundamental component of the organization's culture and values. Establishing programs and policies that foster a cybersecurity-first mindset demonstrates the board’s commitment to keeping digital assets and information secure and makes cybersecurity best practices the norm.

Beyond the boardroom, board members should lead by example. Participating in employee training emphasizes the importance of cyber awareness for everyone in the organization and motivates employees to take the training more seriously. Similarly, strict adherence to cybersecurity protocols demonstrates that security measures—from strong passwords to secure communications—are essential for everyone in the organization.

Perhaps the most powerful indicator of board-level commitment to cybersecurity is proactive communication. Frequent proactive engagement underscores the importance of cybersecurity at the highest level and encourages a culture where cybersecurity is a vital topic of ongoing discussion at all levels of the organization.

4. Establish a Risk Management Framework

Risk management frameworks provide organizations with guidelines to proactively and systematically identify, monitor and manage risks. Board members will be at the forefront of the framework’s development, clarifying the organization’s risk, ensuring alignment of cyber threats and business objectives, establishing governance structures, allocating resources, providing incident response oversight and facilitating ongoing communication with employees and stakeholders.

Cyber risk must be assessed and managed at strategic and operational levels as each addresses different areas of an organization’s cybersecurity posture.

One example of a cybersecurity framework is available from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The framework is “based on existing standards, guidelines, and practices for organizations to better manage and reduce cybersecurity risk.” Organizations can learn more about “The Framework” by visiting the NIST website. Organizations seeking international guidelines for cyber risk management should explore ISO/IEC 27001, a globally recognized standard for information security management systems (ISMS).

5. Build Your Incident Response Plan

An incident response plan outlines how your organization will respond to and recover from a cyber attack. Incident response planning is a crucial element of an effective cybersecurity program as it helps to reduce the impact of a breach by designating incident response teams and defining the processes and procedures for detecting, identifying and neutralizing a cyber threat.

Building an incident response plan requires tremendous involvement from board members in selecting the incident response team members, strategic decision-making, resource allocation and communication management.

6. Test Your IRP with Tabletop Exercises

Tabletop exercises (TTX) are cyber incident simulations designed to test an organization’s cyber response plan. TTX activities immerse incident response team members in their roles and provide an evaluation of their performance under pressure. TTX programs also reveal any shortfalls or vulnerabilities in the plan that a general review could overlook.

In addition to practice, participation in TTX programs provides a unique training opportunity that increases confidence and improves performance in future real-life cyber incidents. The exercises enhance cybersecurity awareness and bolster a cybersecurity-first culture.

7. Collaborate with Cybersecurity Experts

Executive boards are often comprised of seasoned executives with extensive leadership experience and backgrounds in areas like sales, operations, finance, strategy and governance. Few have experience in the relatively new cyber threat landscape—a deficiency that can create a significant vulnerability.

Cybersecurity experts are a powerful resource for accurate, timely and comprehensive information on current cyber threats, vulnerabilities and best practices.

Having cybersecurity professionals in board meetings provides a balance between executive experience and technical expertise. Cyber-specific insights and recommendations add dimension to discussions and help board members understand how strategic decisions can impact the organization’s overall cybersecurity posture.

Proactive board members can also engage cybersecurity specialists for ongoing executive cybersecurity training and consulting services designed to help executives and board members understand the unique cyber threats facing their organization in terms that are relevant to their roles.

8. Monitor and Report

Proactively monitoring and evaluating cybersecurity measures across the organization provides the insights needed to continually affirm that the programs in place are effective, relevant and aligned with the broader business objectives. Frequent and regular internal assessments and audits ensure rapid identification of vulnerabilities.

Creating a collaborative environment between board members and leadership (company, IT and cybersecurity) helps clarify expectations and ensure alignment of the organization’s approach to incident response monitoring, documenting and reporting.

9. Continual Improvement and Adaptation

The cyber threat landscape is constantly changing. Organizations are integrating more technologies into their operations, while threat actors are continually becoming more sophisticated in their methods for attacking new technologies.

Board members must recognize cybersecurity as an ongoing process and proactively advocate for programs that facilitate continual analysis and refinement of cybersecurity policies, processes and culture.

Cybersecurity infrastructure is much like a physical building. It will sometimes require maintenance to ensure its integrity, safety and long-term resilience. When an organization experiences a breach and “repairs” are needed, it is essential to document and review the response to draw lessons that will improve future decision-making and minimize damages from future attacks.

10. Stay Ahead of Threats

The most effective approach to preventing a data breach is also the most challenging: outpacing the evolving cyber threat landscape.

By prioritizing cyber education and training, executive boards fuel employees' cyber awareness and enhance their own abilities to recognize and mitigate cyber threats. It is equally essential for board members and executives to continually seek out learning opportunities, such as:

Onsite presentations by cybersecurity specialists.
Cyber training programs presented by cybersecurity experts.
Reading industry-specific cybersecurity reports and publications.
Following cyber industry leaders on LinkedIn.

While cybersecurity is a highly technical discipline, the most powerful steps a board can take to build a positive cybersecurity culture are relatively straightforward.

Prioritize cybersecurity: make it an item on every board agenda and every employee’s mind.
Allocate resources: invest in technology, training and personnel.
Lead by example: advocate for security-focused programs, promote education and awareness and follow the organization’s security policies (i.e., practice what you preach).
Engage experts: consult with cybersecurity specialists and engage in cybersecurity-focused training.

A strong cybersecurity culture enhances an organization’s resilience and success on several levels, including reducing cyber risk, ensuring regulatory compliance and avoiding the economic and reputational damages associated with a data breach. An effective cybersecurity posture can even create a competitive advantage that organizations can leverage to attract new customers.

As a trusted partner in incident response management and planning, privacy law and cyber risk compliance assessments, ZeroDay Law offers practical solutions for cyber risk management, including incident response planning, tabletop exercises, compliance testing and breach notification with a focus on legal exposure, resilience and readiness.

Business leaders interested in exploring the most up-to-date information on emerging cyber threats, regulatory changes and industry best practices can bookmark our blog.

If you’re interested in learning more about building and maintaining a positive cybersecurity culture in your organization, ZeroDay Law can help. Contact us to learn how.

Why Choose ZeroDay Law?

Cybersecurity is more important than ever, and ZeroDay Law has the expertise to protect your organization. We’ll help you plan for and respond to cybersecurity incidents quickly and effectively, so you can get back to business as usual. Cybersecurity attacks, legal obligations and technical threats are growing in prevalence and are not slowing down. As a best practice, ensuring your business has an IR plan in place, that it meets your legal obligations, and that it is reviewed and revised periodically is critical.

Unlike other law firms, we’re experts in matters related to cybersecurity and privacy, with a unique focus on incident response planning. We have a proven track record of success in a range of incident types, including large data breaches.

Our team of experts will work with you to create a custom plan that fits your needs and helps you stay prepared for any potential incident. You'll have peace of mind knowing that your business is safe and secure, no matter what surprises are in store.