Cyber Risk Management: A Simple Truth for Business Leaders

Most business firm leaders I speak to know that cyber risk is the biggest “single event” risk facing their organisations. It’s the one thing that could, overnight, demolish value, destroy client trust, and halt operations.

And yet, despite the awareness, despite the spending, many still have that nagging fear: when the cyber criminals come for us, will we be protected?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: that fear is justified.

Getting the order wrong

Organisations are being persuaded, or persuading themselves, that buying technical ‘solutions’ such as software or monitoring tools, or even cyber insurance will make them safe.

But they’re buying solutions before properly identifying the problems they need to solve. In other words, they are getting the order wrong.

It’s the equivalent of prescribing medicine before you’ve diagnosed the illness.

You might think you’re secure - but you don’t actually know if you are.

The starting point is a full, comprehensive risk assessment to identify precisely where your vulnerabilities lie across systems, people, working arrangements, governance, and your supply chain. Without this, you’re spending money blind (you are also failing to comply with your legal obligations).

The illusion of security

There’s no question that companies are spending money - and lots of it. At Mitigo, we see evidence of that every day. But the real issue is how it’s being spent.

Ask most businesses how their cyber investments were prioritised, and the answer is often vague. Too often, decisions are driven by IT and MSPs, not by risk.

The result? lots of technology, but gaping vulnerabilities. They’ve reinforced one door while leaving others unsecured.

This happens because jumping straight to technical solutions creates blind spots - gaps in visibility across people, governance, and supply chain risks that technology alone can’t fix.

That’s why the nagging doubt persists - because deep down, business firm leaders know they’ve done something, but not necessarily the right things, or in the right order.

Ask yourself some questions. Where are your documented cyber risk and vulnerability assessments? Who undertook them and what is their cyber risk management experience and expertise? What visibility have they given you on the actual risks your firm faces? How do your technical and non-technical measures match up to control the risks (technical and non-technical) which have been identified? What proof do you have that they are working as intended? 

Independence matters

You can’t do this yourself, and you shouldn’t ask your IT provider or MSP to do it either.

Your IT team is there to keep your systems running. That’s their job. But cyber risk management is a different discipline entirely - one that demands specialist expertise and independent oversight.

Independent expertise exposes what you may not see. It replaces assumption with assurance.

The simple truth

At Mitigo, we see this pattern every week. Once businesses start with an independent, expert-led risk assessment, the uncertainty disappears. They stop guessing and start spending in the right areas.

Get the order right, and that nagging fear finally goes away - replaced by the assurance that your defences will stand when tested.

Of course, assessing cyber risk is not a one off MOT. Your governance regime must include scheduled audits to identify fresh and emerging risks, as well as evaluating whether the controls you have in place are actually effective and giving you the protection you need.

To find out how independent cyber risk management can strengthen your firm’s resilience, contact Mitigo at www.mitigo.com

Lindsay is a solicitor, former Head of Dispute Resolution at a City of London law firm, and Chief Executive Officer of Mitigo Cybersecurity, the ICAEW partner for cyber risk management.