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09 January 2026
Glen Williams, CEO, Cyberfort
For years, cybersecurity has been filed under the responsibility of the IT department, as if resilience could be achieved through technical controls alone. Yet the greatest weakness facing UK enterprises today is not a new strain of malware but persistent overconfidence in the boardroom. Far too many senior leaders believe their organisations are fully protected, while the operational reality tells a different story. This disconnect leaves businesses exposed in ways they often discover only after an attack.
The challenge is not a lack of technology. It is the misconception at the top that cybersecurity is in hand, when credentials, processes and controls are often outdated or incomplete. This happens not because IT teams are careless, but because they are expected to deliver enterprise-grade protection with limited budgets and little involvement from the wider business. The result is a dangerous mismatch between executive confidence and actual resilience.
Why board confidence rarely reflects reality
Boards usually receive cybersecurity updates in heavily distilled form heat maps, compliance reports or certificate renewals. This creates an illusion of protection. If the business passed its annual assessment, leaders assume the organisation is secure. If an auditor issued a certificate, they believe it represents ongoing protection. Yet certificates do not stop attacks, and they are meaningless if the underlying controls are not actively maintained.
A certificate reflects a moment in time, not the evolving risk position of a complex organisation. Attackers operate continuously while many businesses validate their defences annually. This mismatch leaves leadership teams with a confidence that is rarely justified. They equate compliance with protection, despite the two being very different measures.
Within IT departments, the picture is more complicated. Teams manage legacy systems, incomplete identity controls and cloud environments that have grown faster than governance. They know where vulnerabilities sit, but without adequate investment and cross-functional alignment they cannot address them. Executives assume infrastructure is protected, but those responsible for that protection are often aware of gaps they lack the bandwidth or budget to close.
Minding the communication gaps
A recurring issue is the lack of a shared language between technical teams and business leadership. CIOs and CISOs may outline risks clearly, but by the time those risks reach the board, they are simplified in ways that remove critical nuance. This turns cybersecurity into a tick-box exercise rather than a strategic dialogue.
Another misconception is that having an IT department inherently makes the organisation safe. Cybersecurity relies on every employee, supplier, process and system being aligned to the same standards. Yet many leaders behave as if they have “purchased” safety in the way they might purchase insurance. If you cut the budget, you cut the protection.
Communication gaps worsen the problem. IT teams know when infrastructure is too old to patch or privileged accounts have proliferated, but unless leadership treats this as business-critical intelligence, the issues remain. Without a culture that values transparency, teams stop escalating concerns because they no longer expect change to follow.
Creating a culture of accountability
Resilience begins when leaders recognise cybersecurity as a shared responsibility. Technology alone will not save a business. What matters is governance, ownership and culture. Senior leaders must move cybersecurity to the top of the agenda and empower their CTOs, CISOs and IT teams to implement the processes needed to protect the organisation.
This means aligning budgets to risk, not convenience. It means embedding cyber considerations into every strategic decision, just as financial or legal risks are considered today. It also requires ensuring the technical truth reaches the board without being diluted into a reassuring summary.
The wider workforce also plays a critical role. Employees need clear guidance, practical training and consistent reinforcement. Cybersecurity cannot be left to a single team; it must be lived across the organisation.
Why the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill matters
The government’s Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is a reminder that the UK must raise its defensive posture. The Bill aims to set minimum resilience standards and strengthen supply chain protections. Supply chains remain one of the weakest entry points for attackers. Organisations can invest heavily internally only to be breached through a trusted supplier with inadequate controls.
If boards better understood what the Bill entails and what is missing from their current plans, they would be more able to empower their technical leaders. Understanding regulatory direction allows organisations to invest proactively and promotes accountability across suppliers, lifting standards across the entire ecosystem.
A call to the boardroom
Cybersecurity will only improve when overconfidence is replaced with informed responsibility. Leaders cannot assume they are protected because they have an IT team, a certificate or a budget line. Resilience demands engagement, investment and continuous dialogue. It requires CEOs and boards to treat cybersecurity as a business imperative, not a technical afterthought. Only then will UK organisations be prepared to defend themselves against the threats that evolve around them every day.
