Over half of Irish businesses expect a cyber attack on their operations by year end
More than half of Irish businesses expect a cyber attack on their operations by the end of 2017 while 36pc have already experienced one this year, according to the results of a new survey.
And significantly, 84pc of businesses see potential attacks as a major threat to their operations, according to the Dublin Information Sec 2017 survey which comes ahead of the second annual cyber security conference on November 1, sponsored by eir.
Dublin Information Sec speakers and running order; Dublin Information Sec 2017 speakers and running order
Paolo Perfetti, CITO, eir and speaker at the event said, “These survey results are interesting but unsurprising – more and more business leaders are recognising the threat posed by cybercrime, and an increasing number have already been directly impacted by such an event. The trends we are seeing are not likely to reverse, so we must get better at raising awareness, building protection and formulating responses. Dublin Information Sec 2017 is an excellent opportunity for the business community to learn from experts in the field when it comes to protecting businesses.”Cliona Carroll, Sponsorship and Events Manager, INM added: “Such is the threat of hacking to businesses that cyber security requires ongoing vigilance and knowledge. Dublin Information Sec 2017 will gather leading experts in the field to highlight current cyber threats.”
While 82pc of respondents agreed that cyber security is a priority at board level, for almost two in 10 businesses, this is not the case. Cyber security staff training is in place at over 50pc of firms but it is not being addressed adequately and this issue will also be addressed at the Dublin Information Sec event at the RDS on November 1.
The results of the survey also show that Irish firms are ill prepared for up-coming new regulations by which the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission intend to strengthen and unify data protection for all individuals in the union.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations come into force next May and failure to demonstrate compliance could mean exposure of fines of up to 4pc of turnover or €20m, whichever is the greater figure.
The results of the survey show that despite the threats of this exposure, over half of respondents said their company is not prepared for GDPR.
And 32pc of those surveyed, said they were not aware of the implications of the new regulations.
On a broader scale, 91pc of those surveyed believed that Ireland is not prepared for a cyber attack on the State.
This is a growing phenomenon with North Korea linked hackers among the most prolific of nation-state threats and it is an issue that will be addressed by Jeanette Manfra, US Assistant Secretary for cyber security at the November 1 event.
Other speakers include Brian Honan, chief executive at BH Consulting; Joseph Carson, Cyber Security Strategist at Thycotic; Bradley C Birkenfeld, banker and whistle-blower and Daragh O’Brien, Castlebridge chief executive.
Dublin Information Sec 2017, Ireland’s cyber security conference, addresses the critically important issues that threaten businesses in the information age. For more on INM’s Dublin InfoSec 2017 conference, go to: independent.ie/infosec2017
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42
