A lack of connection between IT chiefs with their C-suite managers has resulted in each expecting the other to deal with cyber security breaches, finds aerospace firm BAE Systems.

While half of decision makers in IT would happily place the blame on senior executives for an attack, the main response to the very same question from business leaders was to counter-blame their IT department.

Further, 71% of leaders from big companies believe that cyber security ranks as their biggest challenge, with even more anticipating an attack within the next 12 months.

Insight agency Opinium interviewed over 200 senior executives from the Fortune 500 list on behalf of the defence giant. The study further showed that 55% intend to commit more resources to combatting the issue this year. This would likely mean more cyber security jobs on the horizon.

There were also different responses from business leaders to IT departments when it came to estimation of cyber defence costs. Executives believed it to require 10% of their IT budget, whereas their technical counterparts gave a 15% estimate.

BAE Systems Applied Intelligence managing director Kevin Taylor said:

“This research confirms the importance that business leaders place on cyber security in their organisations.

“However, it also shows an interesting disparity between the views of C-level respondents and those of IT decision makers. Each group’s understanding of the nature of cyber threats, and of the way they translate into business and technological risks, can be very different.”