Asia-Pacific is a region of unique contracts — rules, customs, cultures, languages, food, etc. However, there is a common thread that glues the region together: On the whole, it is growing.

Per capita income is rising, and so is consumerism. Markets are growing at a remarkable rate and show no signs of slowing. As long as the consumer mindset is positive, so is the business mindset. Organizations are embracing cloud, mobile and social technology at an unprecedented speed. But what about risk management?

Growing Challenges for CISOs

Cyberattacks are increasing at an alarming pace. With that, the cost of a data breach is also increasing. In India, for example, the average total cost of data breach increased from 88.5 million Indian rupees in 2015 to 97.3 million Indian rupees in 2016 — an increase of 10 percent.

Because of the nature of data, certain industries have a higher average breach cost compared to others. As a result of all this, CISOs are faced with big, tough challenges.

Figure 1: Challenges for CISOs (Source: IBM)

Time for Introspection

Security leaders should ask the following questions about their risk management posture:

• Are you protected from the latest threats? Cyberattacks are at an all-time high, new vulnerabilities are being introduced each day and big names in your industry are making headlines for the wrong reasons. Are you protected?
• Have you protected your most critical data? In a world where security budgets are never enough, they are often applied like peanut butter — some areas have enough security and some have woefully inadequate safeguards. Do you know what your critical data is? Have you applied sufficient controls to protect it? Is the right governance in place?
• Do you have access to the right skill set? Most organizations face the challenge of attracting and retaining skilled security resources. In fact, some estimates say the global security industry will be 1.5 million jobs short by 2020.
• Are you adapting to changing platforms? As you migrate from a traditional data center to cloud, mobile and SaaS capabilities, you must think about the IT environment for employees and customers. You must also consider how you engage with suppliers. New elements introduce new risks, so you need to plan where your environment is headed in three or four years.
• Are you operating at an appropriate maturity level for your industry? This is one of the most important questions you need to answer. Are you on par with others in the industry? Are you doing enough? If not, you need to reassess your security posture.

Plotting Your Risk Management Journey

There are plenty of questions that you need to ask yourself, and all share a common objective: achieving successful risk management with limited resources. There are a number of indicators that can provide insight into this: how you are organized, what technology is being used, the level of integration, governance techniques and more.

You need to find out where you are in your risk management journey. Are you just starting out or are you well on your way? Whatever the answer, it is imperative to plan accordingly.