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Mason Hayes & Curran highlights importance of cyber security strategy

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Paul Egan, corporate partner at Mason Hayes & Curran
Paul Egan, corporate partner at Mason Hayes & Curran

A report jointly published by Dublin firm Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC) and the Institute of Directors in Ireland (IoD) has found that cyber security is increasingly becoming a priority for Irish businesses.

The Cyber Security in the Boardroom report, published on the IoD website, found:

  • 93 per cent of directors rate cyber security as an important issue at board level

  • 41 per cent say there has been a significant increase in the priority placed on cyber security at board level in the past 3 years

  • 40 per cent of organisations have no formal cyber security strategy, rising to 68 per cent among companies with less than 100 employees

  • Less than a quarter of organisations have cyber liability insurance in place

  • One third of organisations experienced a cyber breach in the past 2 years

  • 44 per cent of organisations selling online have experienced a cyber breach

  • 84 per cent of directors say their organisation will increase spending on cyber security measures over the next 3 years

    • Although 69 per cent of directors described their firm’s cyber liability as medium to high, just 23 per cent said their organisation has cyber liability insurance in place.

    Paul Egan, corporate partner at Mason Hayes & Curran, said: “In simple terms, cyber liability is a business’s liability for any data breach in which data, such as customers’ data, is stolen or compromised.

    “The consequences of such a breach can be both reputational and financial, so it has never been more important for companies to have robust strategies in place to both prevent and, if necessary, respond quickly to a data breach.”

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