Getting Ahead in Cyber Risk: A Differentiated Approach for Communications, Media and Technology (CMT) providers

Communications, Media and Technology (CMT) companies, especially those in the telecommunications sector, are exposed to wide-ranging cyber risks. In the face of a cyberattack, the industry is perceived to incur one of the highest financial costs.

Financially-motivated threat actors is the biggest concern for CMT companies and the industry appears to have the highest loss expectation for amounts more than $1 million, as compared to other industries.

Similarly, human error and ‘rogue employees’ are together regarded by one in three respondents as a biggest threat concern. Most notably, these human-induced threats have been highlighted by more respondents in the CMT industry than others on average.

While the risks are real and have been recognized by the industry, many CMT companies have yet to set up and implement a holistic framework, governance, and adequate Board oversight. The industry must also carefully consider the network security architecture needed to achieve the right balance between security and flexibility of use to address technology and cyber challenges.

Every company wants to be the next generation technology leader. Only with a stronger position in cyber management, with cyber embedded into their business cases, CMT companies can potentially differentiate themselves and bring greater value to their customers and clients.

This paper highlights industry perspectives on CMT cybersecurity. Based on findings from the Marsh-Microsoft Global Cyber Risk Perception Survey 2017, the paper explains the current situation of cyber risks and common challenges in the CMT landscape. It outlines some industry best practices as solutions to go forward with, including the use of cyber insurance as a risk-transfer tool.