AlixPartners, an advisory firm, has added to its cybersecurity practice with the appointment of Jon Rigby as Director of Cyber. A former Air Vice-Marshal, Jon was Director for Cyber, Intelligence and Information Integration at the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Forces Command.
AlixPartners points to governments and businesses facing increasingly sophisticated threats from data breaches. The advisory firm is urging companies to invest in the security and governance of their information technology systems and operations. But it warns that companies must go beyond the requirements for basic technological protection in order to embrace genuine organisational transformation.
Rob Hornby, Managing Director of AlixPartners, said: “Technology is a key business enabler and engine for growth, which means it must be safeguarded by the senior management. Whilst CEOs, boards and shareholders are increasingly focusing on cybersecurity, they must do more to determine the necessary and acceptable cost of enhancing cybersecurity, whilst remaining competitive. Jon’s appointment extends our ability to offer clients a multi-disciplinary approach to cybersecurity.”
Jon Rigby, pictured, said, “The challenges facing businesses continues to expand; beyond low-level crime and disgruntled insiders; into advanced persistent threats, previously the domains of nation-states. Business interruptions, data privacy breaches, thefts of intellectual property and damage to hard or soft assets all carry significant costs, but the ultimate risk may well be reputational damage. This can undermine customer, market, consumer or shareholder confidence, which in turn affects share prices, profits and cash flow.
“A cyber-attack may now be inevitable, even for those companies that invest properly in information security. When a company suffers a cybersecurity event, its leadership must respond rapidly and openly to preserve the company’s reputation and value. The management must communicate and demonstrate that it has taken reasonable cybersecurity precautions; that losses were stopped in good time and that it has the resources to remediate any losses in good time. Failure to do so will leave both the company and individuals exposed.”
This appointment follows other senior hires in the cybersecurity division at AlixPartners including Lorenzo Grillo, Luke Forsyth and Jim Hart. Visit www.alixpartners.com.
