What Keeps a CFO Awake at Night?

9180993488?profile=RESIZE_400xThe average cost of a ransomware attack in 2020 was approximately $761,000.  The average cost of remediating a ransomware attack has more than doubled in the last 12 months.  Remediation costs, including business downtime, lost orders, operational costs, and more, grew from an average of approximately $761,000 in 2020 to approximately $1.85 million in 2021.[1] 

The importance of cybersecurity is no secret to anyone who uses a computer or an iPhone.  Senior executives at businesses of all sizes understand all too well that today’s global economy is still not adequately protected against cyberattacks, despite years of effort and spending in the multi-billion dollar range each year.  But until recently, many CFOs may not have been considered an integral part of an organization’s security team or understood how to respond to security risks and the implications for their organizations.  But times have changed and many CFOs are being called upon to help promote cybersecurity and identify threats.

Some uncomfortable concerns for CFOs in 2021:

  • Can you afford this risk and pay for the recovery of data, lawsuits, system repairs, and now fines imposed by state agencies, such as The State of California’s Prop. 24, where fines can assess as high as $7,500 for the loss of each personal information file? How about compliance assessments and ongoing required cyber threat protection?
  • Will your cyber insurance cover these losses? With increasing premiums, policy cancellations, and excluded industry segments?
  • Can your organization survive these costs, loss of business, and reputation? Sophos “State of Ransomware 2021” Reveals that only 8% of businesses pay a ransom to get back all their data.  54% say cyber-attacks are too advanced for their IT teams to handle on their own.

CFOs have a major role to play in the daily running of an organization.  Besides having the uncomfortable role of having to tell staff members that there is no budget for their constant requests, they work directly with financial analysts and have concerns over loss of control over their financial reporting.  Of course, they are also concerned with the potential loss of funds either through good, old-fashioned theft or as a direct result of another third party’s misfortune.  What if a major supplier or customer suffers losses, can you handle them?  What if they have unknowingly passed malware to your organization?

Finance chiefs have good reason to be concerned.  The information that the CFO controls and uses on a daily basis is some of the most sensitive and important that can be found in an organization.  The CFO must understand where the information is at all times, how it’s secured, who might want to steal it, and how hackers might gain access to it.  What about dark web mentions or databases or confidential information that could be for sale?  Perhaps most importantly, the CFO has a duty to provide plain, true, and complete disclosure to the board on a wide range of issues.  Today, many would argue that they should include the potential impact of cyberattacks on the financial standing of the organization.

As a member of the C-Suite, your risk is shared by all members as they are held jointly and individually to meeting the organization’s goals and answer to the shareholders.  How can the entire team do a better job against cyber threat actors and state-sponsored cyber terrorists? 

At Red Sky Alliance, we can help these teams with services beginning with cyber threat notification, analysis, and complete elimination of cyber threats from both the inside and outside of networks.  We have our own CFO with over 25 years of experience in finance and cybersecurity, who would be happy to hold a brief call with your CFO to help them better prepare for cyberattacks, malware, and ransomware.   And what if this call led to savings in current duplicated services and forecasted need for additional personnel? 

Red Sky Alliance is in New Boston, NH   USA.     We are a Cyber Threat Analysis and   Intelligence Service organization. For questions, comments, or assistance, please contact the lab directly at 1-844-492-7225, or feedback@wapacklabs.com.

Interested in a RedXray subscription to see what we can do for you?  Sign up here: https://www.wapacklabs.com/RedXray   

[1] https://www.sophos.com/en-us/press-office/press-releases/2021/04/ransomware-recovery-cost-reaches-nearly-dollar-2-million-more-than-doubling-in-a-year.aspx

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