Marsh – Digital shift has broadened the cyber-attack surface

Executive summary :

Whilst managing crisis it is essential to keep sight of the risks on the horizon in order to build resilience. With this in mind, the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us all many lessons.

Greater digital deployment means heightened cyber risks

Accounting for the new normal

Falling consumer demand is only one trend contributing to the ‘new normal’ created by the COVID-19 crisis – companies need to be aware of the growth of e-commerce and remote contact with consumers; increased cost of raw materials and services; and home working. All of these trends are likely to influence customer base and business operations – for worse or in some cases for better.

Pandemic disruption

COVID-19 has put the contingency plans of every company across the globe to the test. Companies are now acutely aware of their exposures to major crises and should consider adjusting their level of risk transfer accordingly. Where operating models have changed, so in turn will risk profiles and appetites.

In this article we take a look at cyber threats, one of the 5 big risks that can affect all businesses (pandemic, Brexit, climate change, flooding and cyber), that we’ve covered in our latest Resilience eBook.

The digital shift

The digital shift undertaken by both companies and consumers during lockdown has broadened the cyber-attack surface.

During lockdown, many companies redeployed staff to home working with little to no change to cyber security policies; in fact, best practices were harder to enforce in this environment. Poor IT systems and inadequate security led to significant vulnerabilities.

Couple this with increased remote contact with customers, suppliers, and stakeholders, and you opportunity presented to cyber criminals is vastly increased. As such, attacks are increasing in both volume and sophistication.

Hackers prey on fear

There has been a significant increase in social engineering attacks during the pandemic, which is where individuals are manipulated into performing actions or divulging information. Both fake news in the form of COVID-19 updates and malicious emails are being used in these phishing schemes.

Hackers are using growing fears to capitalise on those seeking up to date information and guidance, leading to a growth in malicious online activity.

See the full report for more…

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