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Almost a third of business executives have reported a marked surge in cyber-attacks targeting their distribution systems during the last six-month period, as high-profile digital attacks on prominent businesses have highlighted this expanding threat to contemporary enterprises.

Cyber threats move up worry scales for purchasing directors

Digital security concerns have climbed the ranking of worries for procurement managers at multiple businesses globally across multiple industries including production, power and technology, according to latest professional survey carried out in September.

High-profile security breaches lead to significant economic damage

Recent security breaches at several well-known businesses have cost them substantial sums of currency, shifting online protection from being mostly the concern of technology teams to becoming a major preoccupation for senior management and company directors.

The essence of international commerce, the way we look at global supply chains and the digital supply environment are progressively linked,

remarked a leading sector leader.

Global elements add to logistics worries

During previous months, supply chain managers were notably concerned about global conflicts, including continuing disputes in multiple regions, along with commercial regulations that impacted worldwide business.

However, cyber threats are now rivalling global tensions and trade disagreements as the primary risk for participants of international trade associations.

Study indicates widespread consequences

The survey revealed that almost one-third of directors reported that organizations within their supply chains had been attacked by digital attacks in previous months.

Major car manufacturing consequences

A notable automotive manufacturer experienced production shutdowns and was unable to manufacture cars for an entire month, following a digital breach that forced the business to shut down computer systems across several international locations.

The monetary effect of this four-week production shutdown at the UK's biggest automotive employer has been calculated at approximately £120 million in lost profits, or £1.7 billion in foregone income, according to university research from a corporate finance professor.

Latest global examples

More recently, a prominent Asian beverage company became the most recent organization to be forced to cease operations at its domestic factories following a cyber-attack.

The corporation, which manages numerous industrial sites in the Asian nation producing beer and various goods, announced that its transaction handling functions, along with delivery systems and customer service services, had been interrupted following a network disruption triggered by the security breach.

Growing interconnectedness produces weaknesses

Organizations are progressively enabled by partner companies. No longer exist the days of viewing an business as an operation operating in isolation.

Recent prominent cyber-attacks have functioned as a important lesson to companies to allocate resources to robust online protection systems, to protect their internal functions and preserve customer confidence, leading them to analyze how their supply chains could become potential targets for hackers.