{"id":687,"date":"2025-05-05T12:31:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T17:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cmitsolutions.com\/philadelphia-pa-1200\/?p=687"},"modified":"2025-05-05T12:31:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T17:31:45","slug":"cyber-nervous-about-cybersecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cmitsolutions.com\/philadelphia-pa-1200\/blog\/cyber-nervous-about-cybersecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"CEOs: Are You Cyber-Nervous? You Should Be."},"content":{"rendered":"

Most CEOs would never delegate financial oversight without regular check-ins. Yet, many are completely hands-off when it comes to cybersecurity \u2014 a risk category that can sink a company\u2019s reputation, cripple operations, and vaporize customer trust overnight. <\/span>If you’re not at least a little cyber-nervous, it’s time to take a closer look.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why CEOs Should Be Cyber-Nervous<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. The buck stops with you.<\/strong> Cybersecurity isn’t just an IT problem \u2014 it’s a business risk with executive-level consequences.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Cyber threats are rising.<\/strong> Ransomware, phishing, insider threats, and supply chain attacks are growing more frequent and more sophisticated.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. SMBs are no longer \u201ctoo small to target.\u201d<\/strong> In fact, small and medium-sized businesses are often easier targets due to weaker defenses.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Insurance is not a safety net.<\/strong> Cyber insurance is getting harder to qualify for and often doesn\u2019t cover reputational damage or loss of customer trust.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Regulatory and legal risks.<\/strong> New data privacy laws and compliance frameworks are expanding, and failure to comply can cost millions.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Your company’s value is on the line.<\/strong> One breach can wipe out years of goodwill and weaken your position in negotiations, funding, or M&A scenarios.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What Cyber-Responsible CEOs Do Differently<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
      \n
    • They ask STRATEGIC questions, not technical ones.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • They stay INFORMED enough to evaluate risk and ensure accountability.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • They require CLARITY from\u00a0internal and external IT leaders.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • They treat cybersecurity as an INVESTMENT, not an expense.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      10 Questions Every CEO Should Ask About Cybersecurity<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

      These aren\u2019t technical questions \u2014 they\u2019re leadership questions. The answers will help you assess your company\u2019s real readiness.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. If we had a ransomware attack today, what\u2019s the first thing we\u2019d do?<\/strong><\/span>I always advise leaders that the best response plan is the one created before the crisis. That plan should include who\u2019s in charge, who\u2019s authorized to make decisions, and how we\u2019re going to communicate internally and externally \u2014 especially if systems are down. I can tell you from working with all kinds of clients: companies that prepare in advance recover faster, spend less, and take less reputational damage. Ransomware is like a major car accident. A response plan is your seatbelt. You can do the math.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      2. When was the last time we tested our backup and recovery systems?<\/strong><\/span>I don\u2019t just ask if backups exist \u2014 I ask when they were last tested. Because I\u2019ve seen companies with perfect-looking backups that failed during recovery. I always recommend CEOs get one clear answer: if everything failed today, how long until we’re fully back up? If that answer\u2019s vague or unconvincing, your business continuity is at risk.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      3. What cybersecurity risks keeps us up at night \u2014 and what are we doing about them?<\/strong><\/span>One of the best ways to get honest insight is to ask this question directly. I\u2019ve seen this cut through layers of polite reporting. The truth is, your internal IT person or provider knows where your blind spots are \u2014 they just need permission to say it out loud. And if they don\u2019t seem to be worried about anything, that should keep you<\/strong> up at night.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      4. What employee training is in place to prevent phishing and social engineering?<\/strong><\/span>Most breaches I\u2019ve seen didn\u2019t come through a firewall \u2014 they came through a click. I always push for mandatory, realistic phishing training. If your team doesn\u2019t know how to spot a malicious email or a fake login page, you\u2019re exposed. Trust me, you\u2019d rather your people learn from a training simulation than from a mistake that threatens your company\u2019s survival.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      5. How are we protecting sensitive customer and company data?<\/strong><\/span>I always ask, \u201cWhat counts as sensitive data in your company?\u201d You\u2019d be amazed how often that hasn\u2019t been defined. Only when you know what you\u2019re protecting can you talk about solutions like encryption, access controls, and secure storage. My advice to CEOs: if you wouldn\u2019t want a competitor or customer to see it, you\u2019d better make sure it\u2019s locked down.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      6. What security protections are in place for remote workers and company-owned devices?<\/strong><\/span>The shift to remote work broke a lot of traditional protections. I always ask how laptops are being monitored and whether company data is being accessed securely from home or hotels. If your remote team can log in from a coffee shop without a VPN or endpoint security, you\u2019ve got significant risk.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      7. What third-party vendors have access to our systems or data, and how do we vet them?<\/strong><\/span>This one gets overlooked all the time \u2014 but in some of the breaches I\u2019ve investigated, the entry point was a trusted vendor. If your payroll processor, billing service, or cloud app gets compromised, so do you. I advise clients to vet vendors\u2019 security as carefully as they\u2019d vet a financial partner. Because their exposure becomes yours.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      8. When was our last cybersecurity assessment or audit?<\/strong><\/span>A cybersecurity checkup isn\u2019t a one-and-done. I recommend at least one formal assessment a year \u2014 and more frequent reviews if there\u2019s been growth, turnover, or tech changes. Internal teams sometimes miss what an outsider can catch. I\u2019ve seen external assessments prevent six-figure problems by surfacing vulnerabilities no one knew were there.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      9. Do we meet the cybersecurity requirements for our industry and cyber insurance policy?<\/strong><\/span>Insurance providers are getting tougher, and regulators aren\u2019t far behind. I\u2019ve had clients denied coverage or payouts because they didn\u2019t meet requirements in the fine print. So, I recommend a review, not just of your controls, but of the policy itself. For example, if your insurance coverage assumes MFA (multi-factor authentication) and you haven\u2019t enforced it, you\u2019re flying without a parachute.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      10. If you had more budget, what would you fix first?<\/strong><\/span>This is the tell. I always ask IT leads this when I consult, and it\u2019s where you get the clearest insight into where your vulnerabilities live. If your IT person says they\u2019re all set and don\u2019t need anything, I\u2019d start asking more questions. There\u2019s always something worth improving \u2014 and this question reveals what they think matters most.<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        What to Do with the Answers<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
          \n
        • If your IT team can’t answer confidently, that\u2019s a red flag.<\/span><\/li>\n
        • If you hear jargon instead of clarity, ask for plain-language summaries.<\/span><\/li>\n
        • If you discover gaps, act fast \u2014 not with panic, but with purpose.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          A strong cybersecurity posture isn\u2019t just a defense mechanism. It\u2019s a competitive advantage, a trust-builder, and an essential component of your company\u2019s value.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

          In Closing\u2026 <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

          Cyber-nervousness isn\u2019t the same as paranoia \u2014 it\u2019s responsible leadership when managing a dynamic risk frontier.<\/span><\/p>\n

          Start by talking to your internal technology lead or your external IT services provider. Ask the hard questions. If the answers are vague, inconsistent, or overly technical without clarity, that\u2019s a signal: it\u2019s time to dig deeper.<\/span><\/p>\n

          If you\u2019re not sure where to begin, I recommend reaching out to a reputable local IT service provider \u2014 someone independent of your internal setup. They can run a professional scan of your systems and give you a plain-language report of the vulnerabilities a hacker could exploit. That report becomes your action plan: a roadmap to securing your company\u2019s systems, reputation, and future.<\/span><\/p>\n

          If you\u2019re a CEO, you don\u2019t have to become a cybersecurity expert. But you do have to lead like one.<\/span><\/p>\n

          — — —<\/p>\n

          Pictured: Which of the people behind me in this coffee shop are getting hacked? Catching up on emails in public is just one way a company becomes vulnerable to cyber threats.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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