Cybersecurity Risk Management: Frameworks, Plans, & Best Practices
Introduction
Human beings are logical, rational creatures and as such, the smartest of them deal in absolutes and facts. Let’s begin with some facts:
- A 2022 PwC Global Risk Survey revealed that 4 out of 5 business executives in the topmost firms believed that the main risk management challenge that their firms face is keeping up with the speed of digital transformation.
- In a KPMG 2023 Global Chief Risk Officer Survey, one-third of the surveyed respondents confirmed that they considered outsourcing the mitigation of some or the other cyber security risk.
- A McKinsey & Company article pointed out that cybersecurity accounts for roughly 10% of firms’ total information technology spending.
- According to Aon plc’s 2023 Global Risk Management Survey, the most dangerous business risk for an Indian firm is a cyber security risk like a cyber-attack or a data breach.
These points, all sourced from industry records and trends, serve to highlight the importance of cybersecurity and cybersecurity risk management. But what is cyber risk management? Let’s read further!
Cybersecurity Risk Management
All business firms in the world, irrespective of geographical tags, industries, size or objectives, face risks. A risk is any element, ranging from government regulations to natural disasters, that hinders and affects adversely the three Ps of business:
- Productivity,
- Profitability, and
- Progress.
A cyber security risk is a risk that is digital in nature and cyber in origin. Recent innovations in technology have resulted in the discovery and invention of new-age risks such as hacking, cybersecurity lapses, data leaks, privacy violations and phishing scams.
Risk management, hence, is the process of predicting, observing, documenting, analyzing, and mitigating these risks in a way that ensures the smooth operations of a firm and the uninterrupted pursuit of its objectives. Cyber risk management is the management and resolution of, and safeguarding against, cyber security risks and protecting the data of stakeholders from any such cyber attacks.
Now that it has been established what is risk management in cyber security and the importance of cyber security has been highlighted, it would serve well to mention that India faces a rising demand for trained cyber security risk professionals. Industry reports have observed an overarching gap between firms’ demands for trained cyber risk management professionals and the actual supply of such professionals. Hiring in such a field is bound to increase as India shapes up for the next digital revolution. This is where the PG in Risk Management comes in.
PG in Risk Management by GRMI
Global Risk Management Institute was founded nearly a decade ago by a Board of Governors that includes trained risk professionals with corporate experience the world over. The Board recognized the demand for trained risk professionals and the succinct lack of comprehensive educational programmes in the domain. The PG in Risk Management was founded out of this acknowledgement. The flagship programme is a 1-year, short-term and job-oriented course that covers ALL verticals of risk management. The course’s curriculum includes a variety of domains beyond cyber security risk management, such as:
- Corporate Governance
- Financial Risk Management (FRM)
- Strategic Risk Management
- Business Value Chain and Operating Models
- Process Mapping, Enhancement and Value Stream Mapping
- Concepts of Enterprise Risk Management
- IT Risk Management
- Applied Data Analytics
- Applied Cyber Security
- Regulatory and Compliance Risks, etc.
The course’s structure is extremely unique:
- 10 months of in-classroom facilitation, followed by
- 2 months of a paid internship in a relevant role in the topmost firms.
The course serves well to imbibe the importance of cybersecurity and cyber security risk in its students.
The X-Factors
GRMI’s flagship programme has seen students from all parts of the country and a myriad of educational backgrounds pursue the course to take their career to the highest epitomes of success. The course is laden with a bunch of benefits:
- The curriculum is crafted and curated in keeping with industry standards and changing economic regulations.
- The faculty team is an adequate mix of academic veterans, industry experts and corporate leaders.
- The admission process to the course does away with entrance exam scores to avoid randomness and arbitrary performances. Rather, it consists of multiple rounds of interviews in order to assess a student’s profile fairly and thoroughly.
- The course is extremely practical: students go through multiple live sessions with global leaders, case studies and group assignments. This leads to a real-world corporate simulation for the students.
- The institute is host to multitudes of clubs ranging from CSR clubs to a fully functioning alumni club. These clubs ensure holistic development of the student.
- The Placement Track Record for PG in Risk Management stands at a whopping 97%, with firms such as EY, KPMG, Deloitte, PwC, Accenture, Titan, Delhivery, etc. amongst past employers.
- The Median CTC earned by GRMI graduates is a stellar INR 9.25 LPA while the Average CTC clocks in at an impressive INR 9.5 LPA.
Conclusion
In terms of importance, cyber security is at an all-time high. If a student wants to build a career in the digital landscape, cyber security risk management is a crucial skill set to stand out to employers. However, even if a student wants to eventually run their own firm, the current landscape has rendered cyber security risk management an undeniable aspect of entrepreneurial behavior.
GRMI’s PG in Risk Management is the entryway for young students into the dynamic domain of risk management. Its alumni have scaled the peaks of success and attained levels of professional development that serve as an inspiration to all and sundry. Recent years have seen the number of risk professionals in India go up to tens of thousands, with predictions of the number multiplying incessantly in the next 4-5 years. As the topmost firms in the world spend millions of dollars on building and training their risk management teams, a student with a risk management certification is bound to stand apart in the hiring market.