22.01.2024
Cyberattacks are the number one risk worldwide
For the third time in a row, cyber incidents are the biggest risk for businesses worldwide, according to the survey – closely followed by the risk of business interruption and natural disasters. This is the result of the annual Allianz Risk Barometer 2024 based on the responses of around 3,000 risk management experts from 92 countries.
We have summarised for you here what this means for the daily business of companies and organisations and the information security experts working in them.
Top risks worldwide
According to the group’s annual report, cyber incidents – including ransomware attacks, databases, IT outages and attacks on critical infrastructure – are the biggest risk for companies worldwide (36%). This is followed by business interruptions in second place with 31% and natural disasters in third place with 26%. It has been shown that large companies have already developed increased risk awareness following the 2020 pandemic and have therefore also taken measures to increase their resilience. Smaller companies tend to find it difficult to prepare for a large number of risk scenarios in terms of business continuity due to limited resources. As a result, they also take longer to “recover” from any incidents and largely restore normal operations.
Increasing uncertainties
One of the reasons for the increasing uncertainty regarding cyberattacks is advanced technologies in attack scenarios, such as generative AI to automate and accelerate attacks. At the same time, a lack of cyber specialists and an increased dependence of smaller companies on IT outsourcing are contributing to rising risks.
And now?
So what can companies and organisations of all sectors and sizes do to arm themselves accordingly and prepare as best as possible?
- In order to protect themselves effectively, companies should strengthen their cyber security, develop emergency and business continuity plans, carry out regular risk assessments and continuously review the measures already implemented.
- Promoting the development of skilled labour through training and further education and retaining employees in the respective companies is crucial.
- Collaborating closely with other companies and international organisations and using innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence are further key measures.
- Continuous compliance checks round off the holistic approach.
Harald Erkinger, CIS Managing Director, agrees:
“The primary goal of these measures should be to increase the company’s resilience in order to prepare it for challenges, changes and potential attack scenarios. Proactive agility is essential here. This includes regular analyses of the threat situation, the derivation of suitable measures and ongoing simulations in order to systematically strengthen one’s own resilience, similar to training a muscle.”
CIS supports you in the area of personnel certifications with the continuous development of the training programme and a focus on practical expertise. The focus is on relevant standards, management systems and guidelines, as well as a concrete treatment of the current threat situation with plenty of practical insights.
On the other hand, CIS offers a wide range of system certifications – be it in the area of information security, business continuity and many more.
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