As a part of KPMG’s CEO Outlook 2017, 150 UK CEOs were asked about their investment plans for the future and the issues affecting their business. It found that 70 per cent of leaders see investment in cyber security as an opportunity to find new revenue streams and innovate, rather than as an overhead cost.

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The report also found that cyber security is now firmly a part of CEOs’ agenda rather than one that previously only sat with the CIO or the CISO – 77% of CEOs agreed with the statement: ‘I am personally comfortable with the degree to which mitigating cyber risk is now part of my leadership role’.

Paul Taylor, UK head of cyber security at KPMG, said: “It’s great that business leaders are finally seeing cyber security investment as a positive figure on the balance sheet rather than a negative one. However more needs to be done to make sure their businesses are prepared in the event of a cyberattack, whether it’s from external sources or even insiders.”

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However, business leaders warned that they are not fully prepared for a cyber event like an employee-led data breach or business data theft. Only 52% said that they are ‘fully prepared’ for both eventualities.

“With recent high profiles attacks like WannaCry hitting the press, cyber security should be on every CEO’s radar. Businesses now need to match their investment in innovative technology with their investment into cyber security, in order to stay one step ahead of cyber criminals,” concluded Taylor.

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