Nearly 60 percent of 350 C-level executives surveyed believe they can "truthfully assure the board beyond a reasonable doubt" that their organization is secure, a surprising show of confidence in an environment where many reports reveal a high incidence of network breaches in up to 97 percent of all companies.

The globalization of today's economy means that businesses are more interconnected than ever, creating a greater risk of business interruption, supply chain disruption, and exposures that can quickly multiply.

Eighty-five percent of companies with global supply chains experienced at least one supply chain disruption in the previous 12 months. Risk is inherently unpredictable. Fortunately, the current workforce is undergoing its own transformation to be able to identify and manage risk on a global basis.

Dual sourcing is becoming more common as companies heed the supply chain risk management lessons of 2011.

Supply-chain disruptions cut about 7 percent of a firm's shareholder value, according to research by Accenture cited in a recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report on supply-chain resiliency.

The Supply Chain Risk Leadership Council was formed around 2005 by Cisco Systems Inc. It was created to bring together risk-management experts who could share best practices and bring process standardization to the way in which risks are identified in the global supply chain, according to John J. Brown, director of risk management with The Coca-Cola Co.