Research by ISACA finds a gap in digital trust as 84% of businesses acknowledge the importance of digital trust, yet fewer than one in ten have a dedicated staff role
London, UK, (15th September 2022) — As enterprises compete in the race for digital transformation, new research by global digital trust association ISACA shows significant gaps between what enterprises are doing now and what they should do to establish leadership and earn customer trust in the future digital ecosystem.
While the vast majority of (84%) IT and business decision makers in Europe say that digital trust is important and 65% state digital trust is relevant to their jobs, fewer than one in ten (8%) European organisations have a dedicated role for digital trust.
ISACA defines digital trust as the confidence in the integrity of relations, interactions and transactions among providers and consumers within an associated digital ecosystem. It is a driving factor in consumer decisions and enterprise resilience in a digital-dominated environment.
Looking to the future, 86% of respondents say digital trust will be even more important in five years’ time than it is today, yet only a quarter (27%) offer digital trust training to staff.
“Businesses see digital trust as fundamental, and its significance is only going to rise as they prioritise digital transformation, customer confidence and business security. However, organisations are yet to grasp the steps needed to get to a mature state of digital trust which could have serious reputational, regulatory, and financial repercussions,” says Chris Dimitriadis, Chief Strategy Officer, ISACA.
Just one breach of digital trust can have a devastating impact on a business. Survey respondents recognise that organisations with low levels of digital trust suffer from reputational decline (66%), more privacy breaches (56%), more cyberattacks (54%), customer loss (54%) and unreliable data (47%) among other consequences.
Enterprises rely heavily on metrics and data analytics to understand the ROI of their efforts. Yet fewer than one in five (19%) say their organisation measures the maturity of its digital trust practices.
Building a digital future
Businesses understand the significance of digital trust, yet progress is being held back due to lack of skills and training (53%), lack of alignment with business goals (42%), lack of leadership buy-in (37%), lack of budget (37%) and lack of technological resources (30%).
“Digital trust must be backed by every corner of an organisation. Every department needs to embed policies into their activity and determine how they can promote digital trust among both customers and employees. Those organisations that keep digital trust front of mind are far more likely to see their business go from strength to strength and quickly see the value of their investments,” comments Rolf Von Roessing, ISACA evangelist.
Over three quarters (76%) of respondents recognise digital trust is important to digital transformation. As a result, businesses are making changes to their internal structures as 29% say their organisation will likely have a senior staff role dedicated to digital trust in five years.
The top three components of digital trust are security, data integrity and privacy, according to respondents, but less than half agree that there is sufficient collaboration among professionals in these and other digital trust fields.
The top three roles for strengthening digital trust, according to the data, are IT strategy/governance (85%), security (82%) and IT (69%). Many organizations are still in early stages of digital transformation, so the demand for digital trust provides an opportunity for professionals to step up, gain knowledge and lead a multi-disciplinary team.
Notes to editors
Methodology
All figures are based on fieldwork conducted by ISACA. Fieldwork was undertaken in May 2022 among 2,755 global business and IT professionals, including 370 within Europe.
About ISACA
ISACA® (www.isaca.org) is a global community advancing individuals and organizations in their pursuit of digital trust. For more than 50 years, ISACA has equipped individuals and enterprises with the knowledge, credentials, education, training, and community to progress their careers, transform their organizations, and build a more trusted and ethical digital world. ISACA is a global professional association and learning organization that leverages the expertise of its more than 165,000 members who work in digital trust fields such as information security, governance, assurance, risk, privacy, and quality. It has a presence in 188 countries, including 225 chapters worldwide. Through its foundation One In Tech, ISACA supports IT education and career pathways for under resourced and underrepresented populations.
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Learn More
For resources on digital trust, including an introductory digital trust course and complimentary digital trust guides, visit www.isaca.org/digital-trust. The State of Digital Trust report is available as a free download at www.isaca.org/state-of-digital-trust.
To help enterprises grow their digital trust capabilities, ISACA is releasing the Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework (DTEF) in the fourth quarter of 2022. DTEF is a business framework designed for the entire enterprise and focuses on providing critical factors for organizational success by fostering trusted, meaningful, and mutually beneficial relationships, interactions, and transactions. Members of ISACA can get a preview of the framework before its release in a free webinar on 22 September.
