Cyberattacks Top List of global trade concerns, Kroll finds

Diving brief:

• The threat of cyber attacks represents the most serious challenge for companies in the coming year, the consulting firm Kroll said in a report Posted Thursday.
• About three -quarters of respondents said their cybersecurity and confidentiality problems have increased in the past year, with almost half of malware and more than a third party citing data extortion as specific fears.
• Kroll’s survey of 1,200 respondents from more than 20 countries, carried out in February, provides a certain measure in the way companies reflect and deal with cyber concerns as global tensions degenerate.

Diving insight:

Governments around the world have responded to cyber-risk by imposing new security and confidentiality regulations on businesses, but Kroll’s report finds that many companies remain uncertain about their ability to comply with these new rules.

“When it comes to treating the patchwork of global data confidentiality laws and the impact on their businesses, only 12% of respondents have classified their organizations as” extremely prepared “,” said Kroll in his report. The average company gave itself a score of 7.4 out of 10.

The European Union promulgated part of the Most strict privacy regulationsBut European companies were the least confident, on average, in their compliance capacities, with an average score of 6.7. Kroll said that the lower score “probably reflects a greater awareness of conformity challenges”, because multinational societies are studying “new American confidentiality (coming) (upcoming) in terms of state”.

“International European companies are increasingly concerned about the changes they will have to bring to their existing confidentiality programs to remain in conformity,” said Tiernan Connolly, director general of Kroll’s Europe, Middle East and Africa, the practice of data and data resilience.

Financial service companies And technological companies have declared the highest level of preparation among industries, with an average score of 7.7, which Kroll has attributed to the fact that they regularly manage sensitive data regularly.

Kroll’s survey contains an important and worrying data point on companies that have declared compliance problems: “Among the persons concerned, less than half have increased budgets, expanded teams, strengthened their workforce or external experts hired to prepare for the challenges of CYBER and data confidentiality,” said the report.

Regarding business growth Adoption of artificial intelligence93% of survey respondents said they had integrated an AI into their business, 50% saying they used it for cybersecurity and IT.

But many of these companies still improvised when it comes to adding an AI to their systems. “Among those who already use AI, 63% do not have transparency or explanation for AI,” said Kroll, “and 59% have not implemented any AI policy and advice for employees.”