Data security and cyber attacks are among the top concerns of Queensland executives
Executives have new worries on their minds as COVID brings data security and cyber threats closer than ever, so now is good time to check if you are a target. FIVE WAYS TO AVOID RISK
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Risk management experts had some of the busiest months ever at the start of the year as COVID hit the business world hard and fast.
In the rush to get entire workforces working from home, companies had to roll out new technology or pivot quickly to tasks never before attempted. Employees were suddenly using their own equipment from home at the same time that company IT departments or compliance units were no longer within easy reach.
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For pandemic expert Aspen Medical it has meant becoming a manufacturer of personal protective equipment (PPE) and holding more sensitive medical data than before, says its technology and innovation general manager Sanja Marais.
“Covid has pushed multiple businesses into areas of business they haven’t been involved in before,” she says.
“We see ourselves as really good with technology internally but we’ve now almost become a technology provider to support the services that we deliver and that certainly comes with a level of risk that we haven’t been exposed to recently.”
BDO’s national leader of cyber security Leon Fouche said at the start of the pandemic cyber risks were heightened.
“A lot of organisations wanted to understand how secure video conferencing was,” he says. “Then we started to see a lot more incidents coming through as people started using their own tech at home which probably isn’t as secure. So an incident would happen, and where previously you could just walk down to IT and say hey I just clicked on this link, well IT is now on the other side of a phone call.”
A few months along risks around insolvency grow for many companies being kept alive by government stimulus and employees losing work hours. Malicious emails have also spiked.
“We are expecting, and starting to see the early parts of misconduct sneaking through, like fraudulent activities, on the back of COVID itself,” says BDO partner of forensic services Stan Gallo.
“But even prior and after that, it’s always been there. People will take advantage of what they see as opportunity,” he says.
He predicts greater scrutiny around measures such as early superannuation releases.
“We are starting to see some insights now from the ATO and other regulators. Now that people have had early access to super and claimed these payments — were they really entitled?”
Meanwhile partnerships that were previously ticking along nicely might be feeling the pressure and partners may even want to take different approaches resulting in legal action.
HWL Ebsworth partner Warren Jiear says three critical times for business conflicts are usually when a company starts making money, starts losing money or someone gets a new partner.
He says COVID touched on all three areas and has highlighted companies and leaders who had solid contracts and legal risk measures in place before hand.
Alliance Paper chief executive Jon Williams says new risks such as how hands covered in sanitiser absorb more chemicals from some supermarket receipt roll paper was a challenge his business moved to solve but communicating that to suppliers and consumers was hard with lockdowns and lack of face to face sales opportunities.
Former RSL chief executive Luke Traini says now was good time to reflect.
“In the first couple of months everyone was hustling really hard to get their staff working from home,” he says.
“But now might be a good time to circle back and review what you’ve been doing while you’ve been doing for the past few months while you’ve been sprinting to keep your business running or get your staff relocated and just double check the front door hasn’t been left open.”
5 ways to avoid risk with BDO’s Stan Gallo
1. Conduct a business impact analysis to identify and understand what needs to change to both sustain the business and identify opportunities for growth.
2. Understand the interdependencies in your supply chain, collaborate with suppliers to plan for the future.
3. Maintain vigilance around protecting data to minimise cyber security risks.
4. Develop effective strategic plans for short and long term future stability and communicate them clearly.
5. Innovate and adapt human resource plans to keep pace with the modern flexible workforce.
