(Barbados Nation) – Barbados businesses are among those who should be wary of the threat from cybercrime.
And while some people think that specific industries are targeted, international consulting and advisory firm Deloitte Global is warning that all companies are vulnerable.
In a new report that examined the top threats for seven industries, the firm said “advanced persistent threats have become a reality for all organisations that depend on digital technology”.
It therefore recommended the deployment of “a cyber-defense that is secure, vigilant, and resilient”.
According to the Global Cyber Executive Briefing, it was expected that “virtually all organisations will be attacked” and therefore top corporate executives “need to better understand their biggest threats and which assets – typically those at the heart of their business’s mission – are at the greatest risk”.
The new report examined threats and vulnerabilities across seven key sectors: high technology, online media, telecommunications, e-commerce, insurance, manufacturing, and retail. It also outlined potential for attacks, reasons and possible scenarios and potential impact to business.
“People think cyber attacks are confined to specific sectors. In reality though, any organisation that has valuable data is at risk,” said Ted DeZabala, cyber risk services leader, Deloitte Global.
“Not a single sector is immune to this. Knowing the value of your data, the value of that data over time, knowing the potential attacker, their resources and motivation, are some of the first steps in making business decisions about adequate protection.” The report said “being secure starts with tackling weaknesses in applications and reinforcing the digital infrastructure”, adding that “organisations that are vigilant should subsequently be alert and identify any attacks as early as possible”.
It also said “being resilient involves early-stage identification of the direction of a threat, the reason for such threat and how it will manifest itself”, noting that “rapidly detecting an attack can spur an organisation into action so it isolates and removes the threat”.
Looking at some of the specific industries researched, Deloitte found that online media “has the greatest exposure to cyber-threats with ones that cause reputational damage topping the list”, telecommunications companies were “facing increased, sophisticated attacks, including by Government agencies using advanced persistent threats to establish covert surveillance for long periods of time”.
