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Your cyber security posture will determine business resilience

This report provides security leaders and their executives an understanding of cyber security as a crucial component of business continuity. It also explores possible six steps to embed cyber security into business continuity plans to create lasting change.

Published on

May 2, 2022

Are cyber threats putting your business’ resilience at risk?

In March 2021, Eastern Hospital, an operator of four Melbourne hospitals, was victim to a cyber attack that delayed several elective surgeries.

In the same year, JBS, one of the world’s largest meat manufacturers, was forced to shut down its 47 Australian sites due to a ransomware attack.

In the past two years, similar cyber events have repeatedly demonstrated that cyber security is no more an isolated issue that will affect an organisation’s risk ratings in a compliance audit. It will disrupt back-end and front-end business operations. In severe cases, it could destroy a fully functional, successful organisation that commends itself on customer experience.

Similarly, the biggest criminal case in Finland’s history took place in October 2020. Hackers infiltrated Vastaamo, Finland’s largest network of private mental health providers. In addition to blackmailing Vastaamo, the hackers targeted every single patient who had shared their personal information with their therapist. After the news became public, Vastaamo’s CEO had to resign.

The company was liquidated and filed for bankruptcy in January 2021. The case was a major shock to the country and its administrators, since Finland pioneered digital health in the 1990s and has invested in IT infrastructure and digital health records to provide seamless services to its citizens.

There are further examples in the report of large organisations that experienced business disruption or layoffs due to a cyber event. The past two years have demonstrated that cyber security is no longer an isolated issue and it will affect an organisation’s risk and compliance rating.

The issue impacts both back-office and front-office operations. In severe cases, it could destroy a fully functioning, successful organisation committed to providing excellent customer service.

For Australia, the threat is no less significant. The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) estimates the economic cost of cybercrime to Australia’s economy at $3.5 billion annually. According to the Australian Government, the average cost of a cybercrime attack to a business is, $276,323, and 53% of this cost is spent on detection and recovery.

Key Insight It estimates Australian organisations spend $1.4 billion per year trying to prevent cyber-attacks and $597m dealing with the consequences.

As a result of these events, cyber security has become a key priority for national leaders and for business leaders alike. The Australian Government has introduced clear policies to emphasise that every Australian organisation in the country poses a risk to national security.

The government’s focus on improving national cyber security infrastructure and building the talent needed to protect organisations is reiterated in the 2022 Federal Budget. In the private sector, executive leaders have allocated more funds to cyber security initiatives. However, this is not sufficient. Organisations are compelled to be more resilient to external crises.

A resilient organisation is defined by its ability to continue to operate despite a crisis. There can no longer be a strategic or operational disconnect between cyber security and business continuity.

Organisations that aspire to become more resilient must build a cohesive relationship between business continuity and cyber security.