Industry Experts Join Forces to Develop a Results-Driven Approach to Cybersecurity

ESI ThoughtLab launches a cutting-edge, global research initiative

Philadelphia – PRWEB – Thursday, December 11, 2019 – ESI ThoughtLab and a coalition of leading industry professionals today announced the launch of Driving Cybersecurity Performance: Improving results through evidence-based analysis. This research initiative will provide executives with much-needed evidence-based analysis for understanding and benchmarking cybersecurity investments, practices, and performance results for their industries.

“With cyber risks rising as the digital revolution goes mainstream, companies need to shift from generic risk frameworks to results-based strategies that can successfully mitigate unfolding risks and provide optimal outcomes,” said Lou Celi, CEO of ESI ThoughtLab and director of the study.

To fill the cybersecurity knowledge gap, ESI ThoughtLab is conducting a rigorous benchmarking study of 1,000 CISOs in companies across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The study will cover firms of varying sizes, from $50 million to over $50 billion in revenue, and across 15 industries in differing stages of digital maturity. The research will gather, analyze, and compare a rich array of cybersecurity data broken out by region, industry, revenue size, and digital maturity, including:

  • Investments in people, process, and technology, as well as in key cybersecurity areas (prescribed by NIST), including identify, detect, protect, respond, and recover.
  • Information on cybersecurity roles, responsibilities, internal and external resources, and organizational approaches.
  • Over 25 key cybersecurity metrics, from mean time to identify, contain, and recover to number of times a year that phishing tests, backup restoration drills, and employee security awareness training are conducted.
  • The full costs of cyberattacks, including direct costs (such as fines and legal fees) and indirect costs, associated with reputational, IP and productivity losses.
  • Stages of cybersecurity maturity and their impact on cybersecurity investments and returns, including the ROI on cybersecurity organizational measures, and risk mitigation processes and technologies.

To carry out this comprehensive research initiative, ESI ThoughtLab is working in collaboration with a global coalition of cybersecurity industry experts and research organizations. These organizations include Verizon, AIG, Fiserv, KnowBe4, Check Point, Optiv, Arceo.ai, Cowbell Cyber, and more.

“For most companies, the stakes have never been higher,” said Mr. Celi. A study we conducted of large companies earlier in the year showed that they lost $4.7 million last year on average, and for more than one in 10 companies surveyed that figure was over $10 million. This research will provide senior executives with an evidence-based playbook for minimizing these losses in the future.”

Driving Cybersecurity Performance is a follow-up study to ESI ThoughtLab’s 2018 program, The Cybersecurity Imperative. Additional information on both programs can be found by visiting http://www.esithoughtlab.com

About ESI ThoughtLab
ESI ThoughtLab is the thought leadership arm of Econsult Solutions Inc., a leading economic consultancy. The innovative think tank offers fresh ideas and evidence-based analysis to help business and government leaders understand and respond to economic, industry and technological shifts around the world. Its team of top economists and thought leaders excel at creating valuable decision support that combines visionary thinking, analytical excellence, and multi-format content.

About Cowbell™ Cyber
Cowbell Cyber maps insurable threats and risk exposures using artificial intelligence to determine the probability of threats and impact on coverage types. In its unique approach to risk selection and pricing, Cowbell compiles Cowbell Factors™, a set of risk-rating factors, that enable continuous underwriting and expedite quoting and binding for brokers. As a result, small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) can subscribe to Cowbell Prime™ 100, Cowbell’s standalone cyber coverage available via brokers in the first quarter of 2020.

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