Cyberattacks, failure to innovate are execs' top tech concerns
More than half of U.S. businesses reported feeling prepared to anticipate and respond to a cyberattack.
When it comes to technology risks, cyberattacks are the leading worry for business leaders, according to a report from Beazley Group, which found technology risks ranked higher than any other category, including business, environmental, and regulatory and political risks.
“Technology risk ranking as highly as it does even during a pandemic is very telling. Strong awareness of the risk is encouraging,” Paul Bantick, global head of cyber and technology at Beazley, said in a release. “However, technology is an area where the threat vector evolves constantly, and businesses need to continue updating risk management processes and work with partners that can support them in identifying and mitigating tech-based risk.”
In the U.S., 38% of business leaders ranked cyber as the top risk, while 29% of executives in the U.K. said the same. However, more than half of U.S. businesses reported feeling prepared to anticipate and respond to a cyberattack. Just 35% of U.K. executives agreed, according to the specialty insurer.
However, sentiments around being prepared vary widely by sector. Beazley noted industries that have the longest history dealing with cyberthreats — retail and financial services — tend to be more confident in their ability to manage the risk.
Conversely, companies in industries that typically have lower budgets and thinner margins, such as hospitality, marine, warehousing and public sectors, are far less resilient. Beazley reported these organizations do not have the funds to properly invest in adequate mitigation tools.
Industries feeling the most cyber exposure are energy and utilities, as 40% of executives in the sector ranking it the top risk. This is followed by retail and technology media/telecoms.
“Although many organizations have invested heavily in technology to protect their systems and data, the cyberattack landscape is constantly shifting,” Raf Sanchez, international breach services manager at Beazley, said in a release. “Cybercriminals are increasingly well-funded and innovative, making constant vigilance by organizations a necessity.”
Innovating against disruption
A failure to innovate and keep pace with competitors is also keeping executives awake at night when it comes to tech risks, Beazley reported. Some 30% of business leaders pointing to it as a key risk, but fewer than half the businesses surveyed felt prepared to respond.
U.S. organizations in health care and life sciences rank this risk as the most pressing, while U.K. manufacturers said the same.
However, these executives don’t fear the changes needed to embrace innovation, Beazley found. Rather, they fret about how fast they can change without destabilizing business models and revenue streams.
Further, only 26% of business leaders in the U.S. and U.K. reported feeling exposed to risks from not adapting to changing technology developments.
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