The executive playbook: Elevate your cyber security through data governance

Like in familiar medical circumstances, organisations often tend to prioritise treating the symptoms (cybersecurity and privacy concerns) through investments in medication (cybersecurity controls), without addressing the underlying root cause (data management and governance). Just as focusing solely on medication wouldn’t address long-term health issues, robust cybersecurity requires a holistic approach that incorporates data governance as a foundational element.

Cybersecurity, like any other risk management practice, faces the existential dilemma of being primarily a loss prevention activity. Gartner says that the global spending on security and risk management will reach $215 billion in 2024, up 14% from 2023. It was around $72 billion in 2014. The global data governance market was estimated to be $2.1 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach a mere $11.68 billion in 2030.

However, most organisations overlook the necessity of robust data governance as a foundation for effective cybersecurity and privacy practices, which can lead to more optimised investment expenditure. Let’s face it, data governance lacks the allure of cybersecurity and is often dismissed as bureaucratic red tape that immediately turns off executives. So how can we engage our executives, spark their interest, and potentially transform them into our strongest advocates?

This workshops will show the audience just how to do that.

The purpose of this workshop is to provide participants with knowledge about:

• why data governance is important,
• understanding stakeholder data needs and articulating effective data governance approaches,
• integrating data governance techniques with initiatives such as information security, data privacy, and ethics,
• how to perform data governance ‘by stealth’.

Participants will explore key elements of effective data governance using real-world examples. While we’ll reference established frameworks, our emphasis is on practical application.