These days it’s not a matter of if your organization will face a cyber threat, but when. Yet many corporate boards still treat cybersecurity as a technical side issue rather than a core priority.

According to a recent survey, while the majority of executives believe cyber funding is adequate, far fewer see their boards as forward-thinking or proactive on the issue.

The real issue isn’t just about money, it’s about mindset.

Boards often see themselves primarily as engines for strategic growth. But in a world where one cyber incident can freeze operations, tank share prices, or cost millions in penalties, that mindset must evolve. Cybersecurity stewardship, treating digital risk as a governance-level responsibility, is what separates reactive boards from resilient ones.

Directors must go beyond quarterly updates and start asking hard questions, anticipating vulnerabilities, and ensuring their organizations are truly ready for the digital threats ahead.

Why It Matters: Cybersecurity is a full-spectrum business issue with legal, financial, and reputational implications. The board’s role as a steward of long-term value makes it uniquely responsible for guiding how organizations prepare for, manage, and recover from cyber risks. Without this shift in approach, companies will continue to be caught off guard, bearing the consequences of oversight gaps that were entirely preventable.

• Funding Alone Won’t Save You: While 71% of surveyed executives believe their organizations invest adequately in cybersecurity, only 39% said their boards understand cyber risks proactively. Even fewer, just 31%, described their company as a cybersecurity innovator or early adopter. This suggests a fundamental disconnect between financial investment and strategic engagement at the governance level.

• The Cost of Inaction Is Real, and Rising: High-profile breaches, like those affecting Change Healthcare and Clorox, show how underestimating cyber threats can be catastrophic. In both cases, inadequate safeguards and delayed responses led to huge financial and operational fallout. These were not exotic or unforeseeable attacks, they are argued to be consequences of postponed decisions and overlooked vulnerabilities.

• Technical Debt: A Slow-Motion Cyber Trap: Boards may not immediately recognize the danger of outdated systems, missed patches, or deferred upgrades, but cybercriminals certainly do. These weaknesses, known collectively as technical debt, can turn minor incidents into full-blown crises. Proactive boards treat cybersecurity infrastructure like any other critical asset, applying due diligence frameworks similar to those used in M&A scenarios to uncover risks before they metastasize.

• Bad News Should Travel Fast: Executives often hesitate to report cyber issues, especially near misses. That silence can be fatal. A healthy cyber governance culture encourages transparency, curiosity, and even discomfort. Directors must lead the way by normalizing open conversations about failure, ambiguity, and emerging risks, reframing them as opportunities for organizational learning and improvement.

• Five Actions for Cyber Stewardship: Boards can strengthen cyber stewardship by embedding values-driven language into discussions, focusing on the cost of inaction, and treating cybersecurity spend as a competitive edge. Regular reviews should reduce technical debt, and updates should serve as learning opportunities, not just reports.

Go Deeper -> Boards Need a More Active Approach to Cybersecurity – Harvard Business Review