It’s that time of year again: The 2023 predictions season is upon us. The global security and risk research team has published our five global predictions in the cybersecurity predictions report. How does that impact us in EMEA? I’ve picked two predictions that really capture two major changes I expect to see next year for security and risk leaders in EMEA:

  • More organisations will elevate the risk function reporting line to the CEO. 2022 has been a tumultuous year in Europe, with war, high levels of inflation, energy security concerns, and everything short of the proverbial biblical plague. Risk professionals have become critical guides to how to navigate the risks and challenges, and have elevated their function from a compliance-driven one to a strategic function powering business decision-making. CEOs have recognized its importance; 44% have created a dedicated chief revenue officer (CRO) for their organisation, according to the AICPA’s 2022 The State of Risk Oversight survey. In 2023, European CEOs will further this trend by creating more dedicated CRO roles and unifying their risk functions under it, with a dedicated reporting line to the CEO.
  • European organisations will damage employee trust by misusing employee monitoring. European organisations have long been nervous about implementing employee monitoring. Legal, regulatory, and ethical values have long acted as a restraint against organisations and security functions being too vigorous here. However, with managers nervous about productivity and some still uncomfortable with not knowing where employees are and what they are doing, we see some European organisations implementing productivity management tools which involve intrusively monitoring employees’ every action. In 2023, a European organisation is going to do this in a blaze of management zeal to drive greater oversight and efficiency. They will destroy employee trust by misusing the technology and damaging their employer brand in the process.

Our full cybersecurity Predictions report provides three more predictions. Read the full European Predictions report to get more of our predictions for Europe. If you aren’t yet a client, you can download our complimentary Predictions guide for European leaders or explore the Predictions hub for additional resources, including webinars.