Cybersecurity is vital to digital transformation, UK tech leaders agree, with 41% of them identifying it as an enabler of innovation in their organisation.

New research commissioned by Telstra, the telecommunications and technology company, surveyed 301 technology decision-makers in the UK to find out what they thought was most important to their company growth.

Since the pandemic, the UK has experienced rapid levels of digital transformation, which only increased the security risks as more services moved to the digital landscape, and new devices were introduced to legacy systems.

Organisations are faced with the burden of balancing unprecedented digitisation with security amid a rise in global cyber threats.

Rob Robinson, Head of Telstra Purple EMEA said: “CISOs are continuously adapting to keep pace with the ever-changing threat landscape.

“Today, the evolution of the role means that CISOs now play a crucial part in shaping the security strategy of their organisation from within the board.

“The question now is how they can entrench security best practices and behaviours within the workforce in order to facilitate the digitisation that is required to keep pace with modern expectations for innovation.”

Senior technology decision-makers in the UK identified cybersecurity solutions (22%) as the most important factor affecting business transformation, ahead of business processes (17%), employee commitment (16%), leadership focus/buy-in (14%), and external investment and funding (13%).

Security is no longer an afterthought – in fact, it’s a key priority in digital transformation.

Though essential, simply investing in security technology is not enough, according to top decision makers. While a recent study showed that the average company could expect a near 1.8 time return on security spending, there’s more to robust security.

A culture which recognises the importance of security is essential – 83% of respondants beleive that they have an open security culture.

This would mean their security values openness and collaboration rather than a culture of blame, encouraging a transparent reporting process for security incidents.

Having a proactive (70%), collaborative (69%), transparent (68%), and inclusive (67%) team was also high on the list of importance.

Collaboration was also identified as a key characteristic securing companies against cyber threats.

Further, 75% of respondents agreed that removing silos and encouraging collaboration between business units would reduce cybersecurity breaches.

A people-centric culture, the research suggests, would be crucial in improving security and overall business transformation, growth, and success.

However, businesses also recognised the human risk element impacting their cybersecurity.

29% of organisations found human error as a key factor in their security failings.

Hybrid working (27%), a lack of security awareness across the wider business (26%), staff burnout (26%) and the skills shortage (25%) were among some of the most significant issues highlighted by respondents.

Extra stress on staff – which would result from new onboarding, team illnesses, or absence of team leaders – was ranked as the most likely reason causing a lapse in security.

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Interestingly, major sporting events (36%), public holidays (35%) and even nice weather (31%) were blamed as potential events causing security failings.

Robinson added: “Our research shows that most decision-makers recognise the importance of security in enabling innovation. It is therefore essential that security becomes engrained into the organisations’ DNA as they continue their digital transformation journeys.

“The other side of this coin is the critical role of culture in enabling better security, as well as business transformation, growth and ultimately the success of the business.

“By focusing on people and actively creating a collaborative, proactive, transparent and inclusive culture, organisations can empower employees to deliver value for the organisation through flexible, adaptable and innovative business transformation.”

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