In a report, the World Economic Forum stressed that cyber security is central to the mobilisation of investors worldwide. 

Martina Cheung, president of S&P Global Market Intelligence, stated: “Investors need to be able to confidently assess cyber risk with the same rigour as other risks they analyse and manage – and that ability can be met only with a standard set of principles.”

“The cyber security due diligence assessment framework is a great building block for this as it offers an industry standard that investors can use across the investment cycles to help their portfolio of companies improve their cyber exposure practices,” continued Ms Cheung.

What’s needed moving forward? 

1) Awareness and standard approach to cyber security is needed. Currently, there is a lack of cyber security awareness and no standard approach among investors for evaluating the cyber security preparedness of a target or portfolio of companies. 

2) Cyber security due diligence. Communities have highlighted that cyber security is often not given adequate consideration in the due diligence process and assessments should be integrated in the diligence process to assess cyber capabilities. 

3) Incentive structures. The World Economic Forum believes incentive structures need to be adjusted so that accountability for cyber security is of equal importance to time-to-market. According to the World Economic Forum, finding a balance between investing in new technology and enforcing foundational security controls means investors and innovators need to understand each other. 

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