Allianz conducts a survey to identify the biggest upcoming business risks for companies every year.
The Allianz Risk Barometer Report 2023 has identified cyber incidents (e.g. cyber crime, malware/ransomware causing system downtime, data breaches, fines and penalties) with 34% as the top business risks companies facing this year. Already in 2022 it was seen as biggest risk for companies with even 44%.
Respondents have suggested that the conflict in Ukraine and other geopolitical tensions are reshaping the cyber risk landscape, increasing the possibility of a large-scale cyber attack.
Ransomware attacks continue to be high in frequent, with double and triple extortion attacks becoming more common. Cyber criminals encrypt systems, steal sensitive data and use it as leverage to extort demands from business partners, suppliers, or customers. This leads to increased losses and to the highest average costs of a data breaches.
Cyber attacks are expected to rise as criminals find ways to breach multi-factor authentication technologies.
Many companies still need to improve their cyber hygiene, including IT security training, incident response plans, and governance. Companies with strong cyber maturity and security mechanisms experience less severe losses and fewer successful attacks.
Small and mid-size businesses are increasingly targeted by hackers due to weak controls, making them easy targets for cyber attacks.
Other risks included: Business Interruptions (34%), Macroeconomic developments (25%), Energy Crisis (22%), Changes in legislation and regulation (19%).
In the survey over 2,712 risk management experts from 94 countries and territories took part.
What does this mean for your company?
In addition to technical and organizational security measures, your employees need regular security awareness and information security training. This strengthens your "human firewall". The right strategy will help you build an effective security culture, which in turn will help strengthen the human firewall.
Read the full Allianz Risk Barometer 2023 report here
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