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T H E F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S C I O O F 2 0 2 5 | 1 0 Maintaining the Role of Cyber-Dragon Slayer Defending organizations against hackers and cybercriminals is a never-ending job. CIOs in all industries continue to invest millions in cyber defenses, but ongoing losses from leaks and breaches far outpace spend. Most financial services CIOs surveyed say they can't keep up. Radical changes in tactics and tools are needed. More than 8 in 10 financial services CIOs (83 percent) believe the Internet requires a cybersecurity overhaul. And almost one in four (37 percent) financial services CIOs believe that cybercrime has the capability to actually shut down the Internet. Although this sounds ominous, technology can also be used for good—to help secure the privacy and security of sensitive systems and data, by using such modern strategies as intrinsic security. Acting as a Moral Compass for the Enterprise Recent disclosures about personal data and information being used improperly across commerce, government, and social realms have the potential to sour consumers on technology. CIOs are acutely aware of this situation, and feel social and moral obligations to respond. Only 10 percent of financial services CIO respondents view themselves as solely responsible to support the profitability of their organizations. An overwhelming majority of financial CIOs (71 percent) believe they should avoid using technology that does harm. Yet just as many (71 percent) believe they should do more—that they should harness technology for social good. Financial services CIOs are also adamant about a number of specific social concerns. They believe CIOs will be pivotal in helping their organizations succeed in navigating socio-economic issues over the next 5 years, including ensuring privacy for individuals (71 percent) and easing the digital divide in young peoples' educations (62 percent). Nearly 8 in 10 financial services CIOs surveyed believe the Internet requires a cybersecurity overhaul.

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