The biggest cyber risks in the COVID world: Leon Fouche of BDO

COVID-19 has presented a ‘perfect storm’ scenario for cyber criminals looking to target maximum returns and many businesses are unprepared.

COVID-19 has presented a “perfect storm” scenario for cyber criminals looking to target maximum returns – our workplace IT security systems have been extended with people working from home and an increase in emails and data traffic, and cyber-security measures are being tested and in some cases pushed to the limit in recent times.

Many organisations’ response to the pandemic was to increase investments in IT and cyber security initiatives to manage risks introduced by the rapid adoption of cloud and remote working solutions, in response to adopting video conferencing and collaboration tools. Although these investments improved the overall cyber maturity for the organisation, cyber-criminal activity significantly increased as well.

Knowing the cyber threat landscape is essential for business executives and owners.

In the latest BDO and AusCERT cyber security report (released last month), data breaches caused by hacking increased by 91 per cent in 2020.

BDO's national leader for cyber security Leon Fouche.

A significant increase from prior years, likely caused by the lack of preparedness amongst respondents for increased cyber attacks during the pandemic.

When analysing the data for our annual cyber report it was clear that many respondents’ perceptions of who was responsible for cyber incidents and who will be causing them in 2021, highlights some insightful and concerning perspectives.

In short, many organisations don’t appear to understand which adversaries are targeting them, what information systems and assets they seek to compromise, and how they will do so.

My concern is that businesses may be focusing their cyber investment in areas that are not as important and potentially under investing in priority areas.

Understanding cyber risks in the supply chain and third-party providers remains a concern.

A supply-chain attack, also called a value-chain or third-party attack, occurs when someone infiltrates a system via an outside partner or provider that has access to the business’s system and data.

Our survey results found that attacks via supply chain are now 50 per cent more likely than in 2016, but only half of the organisations surveyed indicated that they perform regular security risk assessments on their suppliers.

Leon Fouche is the BDO national leader for cyber security.