Ramesh Shanmuganathan, an Executive Vice President and Group CIO at John Keells Holdings (JKH), and Chief Executive of John Keells IT, shares insights into the critical importance of boards and CxOs in leading and ensuring the cybersecurity and cyber resilience of their organizations in today’s highly digital and interconnected world.
As digital technologies evolve and cyber threats become more sophisticated and frequent, the role of leadership in guiding, investing in, and overseeing cybersecurity efforts is paramount. Shanmuganathan argues that boards and CxOs must prioritize cybersecurity and cyber resilience to protect their organizations from cyber threats, ensure business continuity, and support digital transformation securely. Leadership is responsible for setting strategic directions, allocating resources, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory standards, managing risk, and fostering a culture of security awareness throughout the organization. He also argues that many boards, particularly in contexts like Sri Lanka, lack the necessary expertise and representation in cybersecurity, leading to potentially uninformed decisions, calling for enhanced education and engagement of boards and CxOs in cybersecurity matters to effectively champion cybersecurity and cyber resilience programmes and balance the need for innovation with strong cybersecurity measures.