Cybersecurity, threats and risk management

The importance of implementing cybersecurity measures has been highlighted in recent years by high profile security failures involving the internet, the technology, and the services which support and make use of it. Against this backdrop, cybersecurity is of growing significance both to businesses and individuals. Organisations should be aware of their existing measures and, in the words of the UK government, ‘accept responsibility for their cybersecurity and ensure that they have the appropriate controls and systems in place to deter and deal with breaches if they do occur’.

The effect of convergence in a digital world has further operated to bring issues involving cybersecurity to a diverse range of industries and legal practice areas. This is reflected in a patchwork of current and proposed regulation to combat information security threats and manage data use together with a growing appreciation of the need for standards and a harmonisation of practice and regulation.

For a list of the key bodies or organisations that operate to combat the threat of cybercrime, see Practice Note: Cybercrime—list of relevant authorities.

For information on cybersecurity regulation in other jurisdictions,