Executive Leadership views on cybersecurity have evolved over recent years. Ten years ago it was viewed as a tax on the business. The next stage of evolution was when it was perceived as a required and mandatory tax on the business. In the gaming and leisure industry, we live at the intersection of regulations and compliance, and that has shaped the view of many executive leaders who see cybersecurity as a component of governance, regulatory, and compliance. It is a domain that exists (in their minds) where you pay to avoid costly events.
Perceptions continue to evolve in the views of cybersecurity. We at Solutions II have been coordinating and running a series of monthly IT executive roundtables for the past decade and in any month we will have 100 or so IT executives attend these meetings. Each month we poll the attendees on their thoughts about relevant and timely topics. Three years ago, we asked the IT executives to identify their main obstacle to progress – 23% of them identified “dealing with cybersecurity risks” as their most substantial obstacle to progress. We repeated the same poll two months ago and 0% identified “dealing with cybersecurity risks” as an obstacle to progress. We are seeing IT executives change their view on cybersecurity and that is starting to filter through the broader executive suite. The timing is perfect for technology executives to accelerate their leadership into the next stage of evolution.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY JOHN WONDOLOWSKI IN THE 2022 WINTER EDITION OF GAMING & LEISURE MAGAZINE.