In-House Legal Teams Increasingly Responsible for Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is increasingly becoming the responsibility of in-house legal departments within organizations.

That’s according to a survey from the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), which discovered that this year, for the first time, cybersecurity has overtaken compliance as the most important issue facing businesses, as ranked by company chief legal officers (CLOs).

ACC surveyed almost 1000 global CLOs from 21 industries, with just under half stating that responsibility for cybersecurity and data privacy within their business falls under their umbrella.

The research highlights the challenges brought about by increased remote working due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing integration of business strategy and technology policies.

Commenting on the findings, Robin Grossfeld, senior VP, global initiatives at ACC, said: “As people continue working from home for the foreseeable future, CLOs are increasingly being asked to assume responsibility for their company’s cybersecurity efforts. This is presenting a new challenge for many in-house legal teams, and one that is helping to redefine their day-to-day corporate roles.”

In previous research ACC research, it was discovered that 71% of organizations have their CLO either in a leadership role regarding cybersecurity strategy, or working as part of a team with cybersecurity responsibilities.