Andy McKay, our Head of IT and Cyber Security Services comments on Co-op's latest announcement.
Andy McKay, Head of IT and Cyber Security Services for Converged Communication Solutions, says that the Co-op’s reported losses give us a real window into the damage ransomware causes today.
“Many businesses balk at the cost of cyber security, seeing it as an optional spend that remediates IT issues and delivers no real return to the business. This is hugely wrong.
“The ROI of cyber is business continuity; safe, uninterrupted operations; the avoidance of putting sensitive customer, employee and corporate data at risk; the avoidance of regulatory compliance fines; and the avoidance of irreparable business, financial and reputational damage.
“We’ve seen a range of similar high-profile ransomware attacks on organisations this year, with the retailer M&S impacted to the tune of £300 million, while currently an ongoing attack against Jaguar Land Rover has ground the company’s production lines to a standstill, putting dozens of their suppliers at risk of collapse. The losses from this attack are reportedly reaching £50 million every week.”
McKay adds that for business leaders, this must serve as a wake-up call, prompting them to understand the real risks of under investment in cyber. “It’s not just technology at risk, everything can be at risk once an attacker gets into the network,” he says.
Read the full article on Cybernews.