Turning Exposure into Measurable Assurance

Cybersecurity is no longer a “technology problem” to be handled in the server room—it is an enterprise risk that can disrupt revenue, operations, regulatory standing, and reputation in a matter of hours. For Caribbean organisations—often operating with lean teams, heavy reliance on third parties, high mobile/WhatsApp usage, and growing dependence on digital payments—the exposure can be disproportionate to size. The good news: boards and executive teams do not need to become technical experts to govern cyber risk effectively. What they need is a practical framework: clear ownership, risk appetite, credible reporting, disciplined control implementation, and evidence that risk is reducing over time. This article sets out a board-ready approach to cyber governance, including a simple cyber risk model, the minimum set of board questions, “assurance-grade” reporting metrics (KPIs/KRIs), and a 90-day plan to move from exposure to assurance—without slowing the business.

1) Why cybersecurity belongs on the board agenda

Boards oversee strategy, performance, and risk. Cybersecurity now touches all three:

• Strategy: Digital channels, online payments, cloud adoption, and remote work are strategic enablers—until a breach forces a retreat.

• Performance: Incidents drive downtime, lost sales, delayed billing, and increased cost (forensics, recovery, legal, PR).

• Risk: Cyber risk has become one of the fastest-moving enterprise risks—driven by criminals, weak controls, third-party dependencies, and human error.

In many Caribbean markets, the real-world impact can be amplified by local realities: reputational damage spreads quickly, customer trust is hard-won, and a single incident can dominate the narrative in a close-knit business environment.

Bottom line: if the board is accountable for risk, cyber risk is board business.

2) The Caribbean exposure profile: common patterns we see

While every organisation is unique, several exposure patterns are especially common across the region:

A. Business Email Compromise (BEC) and invoice redirection fraud

Attackers impersonate a supplier or senior executive, redirect bank details, and push urgent payment approvals. This is not “advanced hacking”—it’s operational exploitation.

B. Heavy WhatsApp usage and “informal authorisation”

Teams often rely on WhatsApp messages for instructions—sometimes including payment approvals, bank detail changes, or HR actions. Criminals exploit this habit with spoofing, SIM swap tactics, and social engineering.

C. Lean teams and “key-person dependency”

Many firms depend on a single IT resource, an external MSP, or a “trusted person” who holds all the admin access. When access is uncontrolled, risk becomes systemic.

D. Third-party and vendor dependency

Even organisations with internal controls may be exposed through service providers: cloud admins, outsourced finance, payroll vendors, point-of-sale providers, and MSPs.

E. Legacy systems and patching constraints

Older systems remain in production due to cost, compatibility, or operational risk concerns. Without compensating controls, attackers find the weak link.

F. Mobile devices and BYOD

Phones and personal devices are often business-critical. When devices are unmanaged, lost phones, weak passcodes, and unsecured apps become entry points.

These issues are not a reason to panic—they are a reason to govern.

3) The board’s job is governance, not configuration

Boards are not expected to select antivirus tools or debate firewall rules. Their role is to ensure the organisation has:

1. A clear cyber risk appetite (what level of risk is acceptable, and what is not).

2. Defined accountability (who owns cyber risk, and who executes controls).

3. A risk-based plan (priorities tied to business impact).

4. Operational readiness (detect, respond, recover).

5. Assurance (evidence that controls work and risk is reducing).

Cybersecurity governance is not about fear. It is about disciplined decision-making.

4) A simple way to explain cyber risk to any board

To govern cyber effectively, boards need a shared language. A practical model is:

Cyber Risk = Threat × Vulnerability × Impact

• Threat: criminals, insiders, errors, or vendor failures.

• Vulnerability: gaps in identity, email security, patching, backups, training, monitoring.

• Impact: financial loss, operational downtime, regulatory exposure, reputational harm.

Boards can’t control threats. But they can reduce vulnerabilities and manage impact—through controls, response readiness, and resilience planning.

5) A composite Caribbean case vignette (anonymised)

The scenario: A mid-sized Caribbean distributor processes supplier payments weekly. The CFO receives an email that appears to be from a long-standing supplier, noting a “new bank account due to audit issues.” A follow-up WhatsApp message—apparently from the Managing Director—says: “Please prioritise this. Supplier is threatening to stop shipments.”

The accounts team updates the bank details and processes the payment. Three days later, the supplier calls: they were never paid.

What happened:

• The supplier email account was spoofed.

• The WhatsApp message was faked using a copied profile photo and a lookalike number.

• The company had no “two-step verification” for bank detail changes.

• MFA was not enforced on executive email.

• There was no clear fraud escalation playbook.

Business impact: immediate cash loss, urgent legal response, strained supplier relationship, and internal reputational damage.

The lesson: this was not a technical failure—it was a governance failure. A simple control (verification workflow) would likely have prevented the loss.

6) The minimum set of board questions (that change outcomes)

Board oversight becomes real when leadership asks consistent, disciplined questions. Here is a minimum set that works across sectors:

A. Accountability and structure

• Who is the executive owner of cyber risk?

• Who is responsible for operational execution (CISO/Head of IT/MSP)?

• Do we have a defined decision-making forum (risk committee, exec risk meeting)?

B. Risk and priorities

• What are our top 10 cyber risks and their business impacts?

• What is our cyber risk appetite—what are we not willing to accept?

• Are our priorities focused on the biggest risks or the loudest requests?

C. Control effectiveness

• Do we enforce MFA across email and critical systems?

• Are privileged/admin accounts controlled and monitored?

• Are backups recoverable—and have we tested recovery?

D. Third-party risk

• Which vendors have access to our systems or sensitive data?

• What evidence do we receive that they are secure?

• Can we quickly revoke vendor access?

E. Readiness and resilience

• Do we have an incident response plan and have we tested it?

• How quickly can we detect an intrusion?

• How quickly can we restore critical services after an attack?

F. Evidence and assurance

• What metrics show risk is reducing?

• What independent assurance do we have (internal audit, external assessment, penetration testing, control testing)?

These questions force clarity, prioritisation, and measurable progress.

7) What “assurance-grade” cyber reporting looks like

Most boards either receive too little information (“we’re fine”) or too much noise (technical dashboards with no business translation). Effective reporting should be:

• Business-relevant: ties to money, downtime, compliance, and reputation.

• Risk-based: highlights top risks and progress against them.

• Actionable: shows what is being done next and what decisions are needed.

• Evidence-driven: demonstrates control effectiveness over time.

Recommended board dashboard: KPIs and KRIs

You don’t need 50 metrics. Start with a core set:

Identity & Access

• % of users with MFA enabled (target: 100% for email and critical systems)

• of privileged accounts; % managed under strict controls

• Quarterly access review completion rate

Email & Fraud Controls

• of reported phishing attempts vs. # clicked (trend matters)

• Verification compliance for bank detail changes (e.g., % verified via independent channel)

• Time to disable compromised accounts

Vulnerability & Patch

• % of critical vulnerabilities remediated within 14/30 days

• of end-of-life systems and mitigation plan status

Backup & Recovery

• Backup success rate

• Last restore test date and results

• Recovery Time Objective (RTO) readiness for key systems

Detection & Response

• Mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR)

• Incident count and severity (trend + lessons learned)

Third-Party Risk

• of critical vendors assessed annually

• of vendors with admin access; % reviewed quarterly

• Contractual security clauses status (where applicable)

The goal is not perfection. The goal is visibility and improvement.

8) Cyber risk appetite: the missing link in many organisations

Boards often approve budgets without a defined risk posture. Risk appetite answers: what are we willing to tolerate?

Examples of practical cyber risk appetite statements:

• “We have zero tolerance for unauthorised access to customer financial data.”

• “We accept limited operational disruption for up to X hours, but not beyond.”

• “All payment authorisations above $X must use two-channel verification.”

• “No third party may retain privileged access without quarterly review and logging.”

Risk appetite converts cybersecurity from vague anxiety into governable rules.

9) A practical operating model: who does what

A common failure is unclear ownership: “IT handles security,” while business leaders assume controls are automatic. The operating model should be explicit:

• Board / Risk Committee: oversight, risk appetite, resourcing, accountability.

• CEO / Executive Team: owns cyber risk outcomes, approves prioritisation.

• CIO/Head of IT or Security Lead: runs the programme, reports metrics.

• Finance / Operations / HR: own key processes that are commonly exploited (payments, onboarding/offboarding, vendor approvals).

• Internal audit / assurance function (if present): tests controls and validates evidence.

• Third parties / MSPs: execute defined activities with documented accountability.

Cybersecurity is cross-functional by nature. Governance should match reality.

10) The 90-day plan to move from exposure to assurance

Here is a board-ready plan that most organisations can execute—without massive disruption.

Days 1–30: Stabilise the biggest risk drivers

Goal: reduce easy wins criminals exploit.

1. Enforce MFA for email, admin accounts, and key business systems.

2. Lock down payment changes: create a mandatory bank detail verification workflow (independent channel).

3. Inventory privileged accounts and remove/disable unused admin access.

4. Secure backups and run at least one restore test.

5. Baseline endpoint protection and ensure logs are retained.

6. Issue a “WhatsApp governance rule” for approvals (no bank changes solely via messaging).

Board output: a one-page “stabilisation report” confirming controls implemented and exceptions documented.

Days 31–60: Build control discipline and visibility

Goal: create repeatable processes and evidence.

1. Establish a cyber risk register and prioritise top 10 risks.

2. Implement access review cadence (joiner/mover/leaver + quarterly recertification for critical systems).

3. Start a vulnerability management rhythm (scan → prioritise → remediate → verify).

4. Launch role-based awareness training focused on fraud and phishing patterns.

5. Begin vendor access reviews and contract/security expectations.

Board output: cyber dashboard v1 + top risks + approved priorities.

Days 61–90: Prove readiness and resilience

Goal: move from “we have controls” to “we know they work.”

1. Conduct an incident response tabletop exercise with exec participation.

2. Define RTO/RPO expectations for critical services (what must be restored first).

3. Perform a targeted control effectiveness check (e.g., phishing simulation + response drills).

4. Decide on independent validation: assessment, penetration testing, or assurance review.

5. Produce a 12-month cyber roadmap tied to business objectives.

Board output: incident readiness scorecard + 12-month roadmap + assurance plan.

This 90-day structure creates momentum and evidence—two things boards can govern.

11) How to incorporate “solutions” inside every article in this series

For this series to consistently “boast” your advisory capability without sounding like marketing, each article should end with:

• A Caribbean-specific risk scenario (composite, anonymised)

• The control set that solves it (people + process + technology)

• A short checklist executives can use immediately

• A maturity pathway (minimum viable → strong → leading practice)

That is how you move readers from interest to action.

12) Executive checklist: Board-ready cyber governance in one page

Use this as the closing practical tool for Part 1:

Governance

• Cyber risk owner assigned at executive level

• Board receives a monthly/quarterly cyber dashboard

• Risk appetite statements approved

Core controls

• MFA enforced on email and critical systems

• Privileged accounts inventoried and controlled

• Bank detail change verification workflow implemented

• Backups tested (restore test documented)

Visibility

• Top 10 cyber risks documented with owners and timelines

• Vendor access list reviewed quarterly

• Patch and vulnerability cadence established

Readiness

• Incident response plan exists and is tested via tabletop

• Communications plan drafted (internal + customer + regulator)

If any of these boxes are not checked, you have a clear path for improvement.

Next Step!

Ready to move from exposure to assurance—without slowing down the business?
Contact Dawgen Global for a confidential cyber advisory consultation.

• Email: [email protected]

• WhatsApp Global: +1 555 795 9071

• Contact form: https://www.dawgen.global/contact-us/

We will help you establish board-ready cyber governance, prioritise the risks that matter most, and build measurable assurance that your controls are working.

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