Home STAY CURRENTArticles Why Cyberattacks are on the Rise as Covid-driven Digitization Accelerates

Why Cyberattacks are on the Rise as Covid-driven Digitization Accelerates

by CISOCONNECT Bureau

According to a recent survey by WEF, the global digital economy along with the cybercrimes and ransomware attacks grew during the Covid-19 outbreak.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the global digital economy grew during the Covid-19 outbreak, but so did cybercrime, with nearly 80 percent of cyber leaders now considering ransomware a “danger” and a “threat” to public safety.

According to a new study released on Tuesday, the accelerated speed of digitalisation, fueled by the Covid-19 epidemic, has resulted in a record-breaking year for cybercrime, with ransomware attacks rising 151 percent in 2021 and an average of 270 cyberattacks per organisation.

The ‘Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2022′, released during the World Economic Forum’s online Davos Agenda summit, further stated that each successful cyber breach cost a company $3.6 million (nearly Rs 27 crore) last year, and that the average share price of the hacked company underperformed NASDAQ by nearly 3% even six months after the event in case the breach became public.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the global digital economy grew during the Covid-19 outbreak, but so did cybercrime, with nearly 80 percent of cyber leaders now considering ransomware a “danger” and a “threat” to public safety.

Simultaneously, there is a significant perception gap between business executives who believe their organisations are secure and security leaders who disagree.

According to some 92 percent of business executives surveyed agree that cyber resilience is integrated into enterprise risk management strategies, but only 55 percent of cyber leaders concur. The report noted that this this gap between leaders can expose companies to cyberattacks as a result of incongruous security priorities and policies.

Even after a cyber threat has been detected, over two-thirds of respondents in the WEF survey conducted in collaboration with Accenture said it would be difficult to respond to a cybersecurity incident due to a lack of skills within their team.

Even more concerning is the growing trend of firms taking an average of 280 days to identify and respond to a cyberattack. To put this in context, a cybersecurity incident occured on January 1 may not be entirely contained until October 8.

WEF Managing Director Jeremy Jurgens said “Companies must now embrace cyber resilience — not only defending against cyberattacks but also preparing for swift and timely incident response and recovery when an attack does occur,”

Accenture Chair and CEO Julie Sweet stated that businesses must collaborate more closely with ecosystem partners and other third parties to make cybersecurity a part of their ecosystem DNA in order to be resilient and build customer trust.

According to the survey, less than one-fifth of cyber leaders believe that their organisations are cyber resilient.

They also do not feel consulted on business decisions, and they struggle to gain decision-makers’ support for prioritising cyber risks, despite the fact that recruiting and retaining the right talent is their top priority.

Furthermore, approximately nine out of ten people believe that SMEs are the weakest link in the supply chain.

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