CYBERSECURITY is no longer just an IT concern but has become a major business risk, moving to the top of strategic priority lists, said Field CISCO and head of Cybersecurity Product Philippines Telco Alexis Bernardino.
Speaking at the Top Executive (TOPEX) conference at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa in Nadi on November 22, Mr Bernardino revealed that a World Economic Forum statistic indicates 66 per cent of organisations expect AI (Artificial Intelligence) to impact their jobs, with cybersecurity being a significant concern.
He stressed that no organisation is spared from cyber threats.
“The current landscape right now, no one is spared, everyone’s a target regardless of your company size, the number of employees, how big is your conglomerate, how small is your retail company,” Mr Bernardino said.
Mr Bernardino highlighted the prevalence of breaches occurring through third parties and the biggest impact observed to be cybersecurity, followed by geopolitical tension.
“Fifty-four per cent of large organisations identify supply chain attacks.
“Most of the breaches that we’ve encountered in the field, maybe 60 per cent to 70 per cent, are limited to supply chain, meaning not directly to your organisation, but somebody in your ecosystem connected to your organisation.”
Mr Bernardino said only 40 per cent of organisation can say confidently that they have the necessary talent considering the global shortage of cybersecurity talent.
“Cyber security is no longer just a compliance check box particularly for highly regulated bodies like the financial industry that conduct quarterly compliance checks.”
Mr Bernardino said the most devastating consequence of a cyber incident is reputational damage.
“Now it’s the reputational damage that’s more catastrophic.
“That’s the most catastrophic cyber security,” he said.
