Cybersecurity Governance for the Board of Directors

Organizations of every size and in every industry are vulnerable to cybersecurity risks—a dynamic landscape of threats and vulnerabilities and a corresponding overload of possible mitigating controls. Businesses that want to get ahead of this risk understand the value of having deep cybersecurity competencies on their board. To ensure boardroom skills reflect the patterns of the marketplace, companies such as FedEx, Hasbro, PNC, and UPS have transformed their approach to governing cyber risk, starting with board cyber expertise.  

However, board members face a significant challenge in fulfilling their fiduciary responsibilities in the oversite of cybersecurity and data privacy risk. Being a knowledgeable board member does not mean becoming a cybersecurity expert, but it does mean understanding basic concepts, risks, frameworks, and approaches. And it means having the ability to assess whether management appropriately comprehends related threats, has an appropriate cyber strategy, and can measure its effectiveness. Board members today require focused training on these critical areas to carry out their mission.

Participants will leave this course with an understanding of:

• The role of the board as it relates to cybersecurity and breach planning, response, and management
• The importance of building a corporate culture of cybersecurity
• Cybersecurity's role in data protection and privacy concerns
• The primary cybersecurity regulations and how they impact companies across different industries
• Evolving cyber vulnerabilities such as human engineering and supply chain cyber risks

Created, designed, and developed by experts in cybersecurity, data privacy, and corporate policy and governance from the MIT Sloan School of Management, Cybersecurity Governance for the Board of Directors provides a holistic, enterprise approach to cybersecurity and data privacy. Course faculty are colleagues at Cybersecurity at MIT Sloan (CAMS) research consortium, the only research group in the world that focuses entirely on the managerial side of cybersecurity. Topics covered include governance, protection and response, law and regulations, security strategy and culture.

The goal of this course is to assist board members, C-suite leaders, and other senior executives in quickly gathering essential language and perspectives for cybersecurity strategy and risk management to better carry out their oversight and leadership responsibilities.

Please note:

if you have already completed Cybersecurity for Leaders: Managing Risk in a Digital World, there is some overlap in course materials used, though the content is framed differently for the purposes of this audience.