Digital trust is about more than cybersecurity
Digital trust is at the center of current debates whether we talk about cyber-resilience, cybersecurity or even digital sovereignty. It is a Holy Grail that often raises more questions than answers…
By Chris Dimitriadis, Chief Global Strategy Officer, ISAAC
In recent years, cybersecurity has been at the heart of everyone’s attention. Several high-profile data breaches have put many businesses around the world at risk. These malicious acts have brought to the fore the issue of cybersecurity in our modern society. They also made it possible to capture the attention of the public and above all to arouse more attention within the board of directors.
However, cybersecurity remains only one part of a more global challenge that leaders must prioritize today: digital trust.
Understand the concept of ‘digital trust’
Defining the integrity of relationships, interactions and transactions between suppliers and consumers within a given digital ecosystem, digital trust is difficult to establish today. However, it remains essential for any organization aiming to attract and retain customers in today’s digital economy. Customers and other stakeholders have understandably become skeptical about how their data is handled and protected. The current technological and regulatory landscape is too complex and changing too rapidly for digital trust to be possible without a deliberate holistic approach. Such an approach includes security but incorporates other important areas such as personal data protection, risk, insurance, governance, quality and transparency.
Having an experienced cybersecurity team is no longer enough to build and maintain an organization’s digital trust. Only cooperation between different stakeholders will be possible to succeed. However, this means for some companies that moving beyond siled approaches is possible eventually stop them The ISACA State of Digital Trust survey tells us that only 12% of respondents believe there is sufficient collaboration between the various players working on digital trust within their organization. The survey identifies IT strategy and management professionals as having the most important role in building digital trust, ahead of security, IT, risk and compliance professionals, and personal data protection.
In this context, how can companies free themselves from siled approaches and establish the collaboration necessary to create this digital trust?
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A new collective force is needed
An impetus that starts with the education and training of staff so that every professional working for the trust understands the role of each of the specialists and how their work affects others. In the field of cybersecurity, for example, understanding how a digital transformation project is managed and implemented helps integrate cybersecurity in a way that aligns with bottom line and timeline imperatives. marketing. It is also useful to understand the account certification needs so that any proposed solution facilitates the audit process through built-in functionality.
It is through the exchange and interaction between the different internal departments and through the search for knowledge and testimonials in the market that professionals can gain excellence through intervention in a transverse way and by understanding how their role is part of a larger scheme. The best cybersecurity professionals are often those who have the ability to integrate cybersecurity in such a way that it drives efficiency and results in the company’s specific business goals.
The need for enterprise-wide collaboration to ensure digital trust goes beyond collective thinking to confine it to IT-related jobs. Marketing, human resources and other business departments have an important role to play in laying the groundwork for digital trust. The organization’s commitment to digital trust must be shared with customers and other stakeholders so that they can overcome ambient skepticism and turn it into a solid competitive advantage. In other words, clearly explain what digital trust practices have been implemented (fewer breaches, more reliable data, stronger innovation capabilities) and why this is also important for each stakeholder.
Highlighting achievements in the field of digital trust requires communication of indicators to measure the progress made. ISACA, known worldwide for its COBIT governance framework, is developing a Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework that will provide companies with guidance and a holistic view of their digital trust development.
The digital environment in which companies operate is increasingly causing anxiety. It is constantly changing at all levels: regulation, cyber threats, risks related to emerging technologies, constant pressures related to the increasingly rapid evolution of markets, etc. Each of these topics, if not managed properly, can affect and damage a company’s reputation. No single organizational function can fully alleviate these challenges. But by harnessing their collective capabilities in a coordinated way, their pursuit of digital trust can be made central to a viable, competitive, and trusted business model.
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