Empowering Boards: Using Peer Benchmarking to Strengthen Cyber Oversight

The SEC’s cybersecurity disclosure rules, introduced in December 2023, have placed new pressure on companies and their boards to demonstrate credible oversight of cyber and IT related risks. 

While boards have made progress in building up their cyber and information technology skill sets, many board members still lack the technical background needed to feel confident in cyber governance discussions. Armed with better information, more board members can participate meaningfully in the dialogue. Peer-based, statistically derived cyber risk metrics—grounded in observable signals across a large coverage of publicly traded companies—offer a practical way to ground board-level conversations. Peer benchmarking provides company management and their boards clarity on where an organization stands, and whether its risk posture is improving or declining. With this insight, all board members can ask more pointed, relevant questions, participate more confidently in governance discussions, and contribute to meaningful oversight of this critical risk category. This session will examine how benchmarking can elevate cyber governance and support more informed, data driven oversight at the board level.