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Almost one-third of corporate leaders have observed a noticeable increase in online breaches targeting their supply chains during the past six months, as high-profile digital attacks on well-known companies have underscored this expanding threat to today's organizations.

Online security issues climb concern rankings for supply chain executives

Cybersecurity threats have advanced the hierarchy of concerns for procurement managers at hundreds organizations internationally across diverse business fields including manufacturing, utilities and IT, according to current industry research carried out in the ninth month.

High-profile security breaches lead to significant monetary impacts

Current digital intrusions at several major companies have cost them millions of money, moving cyber resilience from being primarily the responsibility of IT departments to becoming a primary concern for senior management and top executives.

The nature of worldwide business, the manner in which we look at global supply chains and the online supply environment are increasingly interconnected,

stated a senior industry executive.

Global elements add to logistics concerns

In the first half, supply chain managers were particularly concerned about international tensions, including persistent tensions in various regions, along with commercial regulations that affected worldwide business.

Nevertheless, online attacks are now rivalling international conflicts and tariff disputes as the main threat for organizations of international trade associations.

Survey indicates widespread consequences

The survey revealed that nearly 30% of executives stated that companies within their logistics networks had been attacked by digital attacks in the past few months.

Significant car manufacturing consequences

One prominent automotive manufacturer experienced production shutdowns and was could not to build automobiles for an entire month, following a digital breach that required the organization to turn off IT networks across multiple overseas operations.

The financial consequences of this four-week production shutdown at Britain's largest car manufacturer has been projected at approximately 120 million pounds in missed earnings, or one point seven billion pounds in foregone income, according to university research from a commercial economics professor.

Recent international examples

During the autumn, a well-known Asian beverage company became the newest corporation to be forced to stop production at its domestic factories following a digital breach.

The company, which maintains multiple industrial sites in Japan producing beer and other products, announced that its transaction handling functions, along with distribution activities and client support functions, had been halted following a systems outage triggered by the cyber-attack.

Increasing integration produces risks

Companies are increasingly enabled by other organizations. Gone are the days of considering an organization as an unit operating in independence.

Recent high-profile cyber-attacks have served as a strong reminder to organizations to invest in comprehensive online protection systems, to protect their business activities and preserve consumer trust, encouraging them to investigate how their supply chains could become possible focus points for digital attackers.