Cyber security is an issue for the board, says TalkTalk exec

TalkTalk chief executive Didi Harding, in her appearance at a House of Commons Select Committee, defended her company’s cyber security strategy and said that she was fully responsible for their incident response procedure.

She said that security is a business risk and an issue for the board to deal with, repeatedly stating that security should not be delegated.

Harding said that she understood the reality of the role that cyber technology plays in the modern business climate, but it also needs to be understood that there a number of risks that it presents. She added that it is a risk that must be taken, however, saying:

“The business risk has increased [due to hackers, but security decisions] should be taken at a business level and in some places it’s wrongly taken at a technical level.”

She also confessed to having taken the head position chairing the team responsible for incident response.

She further told the Committee:

“Being open and honest with customers is the right answer. It was absolutely the right thing to warn all four million customers and over time we are seeing the benefits.”

The board may indeed need to take an active role when it comes to protecting its company in the present security climate. One of the key strategies is ensuring that it has a sufficient IT security recruitment procedure in place. The board may comprise those experienced in decision making but only trained cyber security personnel can ultimately combat attacks, no matter the source.