Risks To Reputation Due To Cyber-crime

Detail of hacker hand stealing padlock from laptop keyboard. Concept of computer crime.

Cyber crime has dominated the news of late, the cyber attack by the WannaCry ransomware being the most significant. The focus has been on the affect on the NHS, but companies such as Fedex were also affected. Fedex put out a statement that it was “experiencing interference”. Other major companies affected by data breaches since the beginning of the year include loan company Wonga and the insurance firm RSA. UK SME’s are also being targeted, perhaps because cyber-issues are lower down the priority list compared to corporates. Another reason SME’s are targeted is that they are considered to be a way in to larger organisations.

A lack of prevention measures can seriously damage an organization’s reputation. Even after recovery, prospects are put off by the fact that there has been a history of data breaches and will wonder if their data is safe, despite multiple reassurances and notices put out. If a website and the service it provides has been unavailable over a long period, customers may not trust that the same could happen again.

Fortunately, good advice and prevention services are available e.g. the UK government provides a cyber-security policy web page and leading security firms such as Kaspersky, Norton and Trend Micro have published excellent online resources. The company Axelos provide the RESILIA best practice portfolio to help organizations improve their cyber resilience and protect themselves from cyber-attack