Cyprus firms urged to make cyber resilience a boardroom priority

Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus businesses are being urged to treat cyber risk as a boardroom issue rather than solely an IT matter, amid AI-driven attacks, reliance on external technology providers and new European Union rules. Speakers at the 6th Cyber Security Conference said policies, procedures and security software alone were no longer sufficient.

Focus on resilience

Held at the Hilton Nicosia under the theme “From Compliance to Cyber Resilience”, the conference brought together regulators, technology specialists and business executives.

Discussions focused on whether organisations can identify attacks, make decisions quickly and continue operating when their systems come under pressure. The conference posed the question: “Can your organisation withstand a cyber incident, and continue to operate?”

Management responsibility

Opening the conference, former ISACA board member Michalis Kassini said cybersecurity had moved beyond a technical obligation or a regulatory compliance matter, according to statements highlighted by InBusiness.

He linked cybersecurity to leadership, board accountability, business continuity and customer trust, while referring to the growing number of European rules affecting the management of digital risk.

Under the EU’s NIS2 Directive, the management bodies of essential and important entities must approve cybersecurity risk-management measures and oversee their implementation. Board members must also receive training to understand and assess cyber risks.

Cybersecurity maturity findings

Communications Commissioner Marios Pieri presented findings from cybersecurity maturity assessments conducted in Cyprus.

The organisations assessed recorded an average maturity score of 1.6 out of 3, while 49 per cent of required security controls remained at an initial or fragmented stage.