Cyber-risk is high on the agenda for many New Zealand businesses however few are very confident about understanding, or responding to a cyber incident, a new global survey shows.
Many also do not comprehend the risks their suppliers pose.
The survey was conducted by Marsh and Microsoft.
While 60% of the survey’s New Zealand respondents said cyber incidents were in their top five risks, only 22% said they were highly confident in managing, responding and recovering from a cyber incident and 35% in understanding and assessing their cyber risks.
Forty-three per cent of respondents did not assess the cyber risks of their vendors or suppliers and 20% did not know if they were even exposed to any risks from their supply chain.
Marsh head of specialities Fred Boles said, “Cyber risk is a topic that has been talked about for some time given our increasing dependence on technology. It is therefore surprising that many organisations are still unaware what their cyber risks are including the risks that suppliers pose.”
Four out of five of the businesses surveyed said business interruption was the biggest risk, followed by reputational damage.
In relation to cyber attacks that delivered destructive malware,
people were most concerned about financially motivated threats,
such as organised crime, and human error, such as the loss of an employee mobile device.
The World Economic Forum estimates the economic loss of cyber incidents is between US$1.5 trillion ($2.17 trillion) and $4 trillion a year.
Only 33% of respondents in New Zealand had developed a cyber incident response plan in the last 12 to 24 months. Of those who didn’t have a plan in place, 32% were unsure why not.
“As with any major business risks, preparedness is the key to managing them,” Boles said.
“Organisations can more effectively manage cyber risk by applying a holistic, comprehensive approach that emphasises proven security practices, such as updating systems regularly, along with other preventative measures including planning that engages key stakeholders.”
The Global Cyber Risk Perception Survey had more than 1300 executive responses coming from 26 industries.
