Prioritizing cybersecurity should be top of your New Year resolutions list says Ross Brewer
The cyber fraud industry that rapidly grew during the pandemic is showing no signs of slowing down . Around a third ( 31 percent ) of UK businesses experience cyber-attacks or breaches at least once a week , according to new figures published in the government ’ s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022 report . Manufacturing companies now account for nearly a quarter of all ransomware attacks . In recent years , damaging cyberincidents like the 2021 Colonial Pipeline attack have highlighted the need for manufacturers to treat cybersecurity as a critical operational priority .
At $ 4.4m , the Colonial Pipeline ransom payout was one of the largest in history , but the collateral damage inflicted was even greater , with President Biden saying the US Government took ‘ extraordinary measures ’ to mitigate the physical effects of the temporary oil shortage . Financial loss , reputational damage and customer mistrust are just a few of the effects a successful breach can have on a business .
At board level , the chief of a $ 1.2tn oil fund in Norway recently stated that cybersecurity was a bigger concern than market movements . For organizations to fulfill their financial potential in 2023 , mitigating cyber-risk at all levels of their operations should be prioritized , but real change often comes from the top .
The evolving industrial CISO
As of 2022 , just 12 percent of Chief Information Security Officers ( CISOs ) sit on their company ’ s board . Although growing awareness of cyberrisk has seen organizations investing more in cybersecurity , nearly half of all manufacturers in the UK have been or are currently falling victim to cyber-crime according to MAKE , the industry trade body , ranking the sector in the top five most prone to successful cyber-attacks .
Gone are the days of manufacturing CISOs managing solely tangible assets in a physical environment . Digital transformation has ushered in a brave new world , not just for CISOs , but for the directors they answer to , with nearly half of manufacturers in the UK
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