"Global Supply Chains Threatened by the Rise of Ransomware"

Mark Atwood, Gartner's Global Research and Advisory leader points out that cyberattacks continue to pose an ongoing, evolving threat to businesses across all industries, citing NCC Group's Annual Threat Monitor report, which found that ransomware attacks nearly doubled in 2021, rising 92.7 percent from the previous year. According to the Gartner report titled, "Combating Enterprise and Ecosystem Cybersecurity Threats," published in September, 63 percent of respondents expected a 5 percent increase in spending on supply chain cybersecurity. In addition, the most popular technique for combating supply chain cyberattacks is an audit of suppliers, manufacturers, and logistics partners. However, this is insufficient. Research has shown that businesses overestimate the cybersecurity of their supply chain. On a scale of one to seven, with one being not at all secure and seven being completely protected, respondents were asked how secure they thought their supply chains were, and 83 percent rated themselves a four or higher. According to Geert van der Linden, Cybersecurity Business Lead at Capgemini, this false sense of security is dangerous given the state of global industry, as manufacturing surpassed financial services last year for being the sector most targeted by cybercriminals. Legacy technology from a time when cybersecurity was not even a thought has created opportunities for attackers to exploit. The industry's transition to smart factories has also raised complex cybersecurity issues that organizations must address. Forty percent of organizations have been victims of a cyberattack on their smart factories in the last year, and this will only become more common if organizations do not respond. Improved visibility of networked devices is critical for detecting when they have been compromised, and regular system-risk assessments help prevent attacks, but much more needs to be done if global businesses are to combat the threats of rampant ransomware and other cyberattacks. This article continues to discuss experts' key points on the rise in cyberattacks and the threat that such attacks pose to global supply chains.

Technology Magazine reports "Global Supply Chains Threatened by the Rise of Ransomware"