Quantifying cyber risk vital for business survival

Healthcare, manufacturing, and utilities are suffering long-term financial impact of major cyber attacks, according to ThreatConnect.

“With the National Cyber Strategy coming out of the White House focusing on decreasing cyber risk from critical infrastructure and the new SEC Cyber Proposals, organizations across industries are now being tasked with reporting on cyber risk,” said Jerry Caponera, GM of Risk Quantification, ThreatConnect.

“Organizations are finally waking up to the fact that the impact of ransomware and other cyber attacks are more than just the moment in time. The financial implications are far reaching and creating barriers for companies to continue operations after these attacks,” concluded Caponera.

Quantifying cyber risk is business-specific, and organizations must assess what type of loss they may face, which includes revenue, remediation, legal settlement, or otherwise.

Healthcare industry under constant threat

The healthcare industry is under constant threat of attack, as ransomware threat groups target the industry in an effort to reap quick financial gain.

Due to universal public backlash at attacks on hospitals and the healthcare industry that put patients’ lives in jeopardy, some ransomware threat groups stated that they would avoid conducting similar attacks in the future.

As one of the most highly regulated industries, healthcare is still behind the curve when it comes to having a solid cybersecurity posture.

Ransomware attacks on manufacturing cause operational disruptions

According to a recent IBM report, the manufacturing sector was the most targeted sector for ransomware cyber attacks and the most extorted industry in 2022.

Ensuring that systems and processes are running optimally is critical to the success of manufacturing companies, to the economic success of nations, and to consumers who depend on the goods produced for everyday life.

Ransomware attacks on manufacturing companies tend to cause operational disruptions which can cascade through supply chains and into the broader economy.

Hackers target smaller utility companies

Utility companies provide energy needed to power our economies and enable most of what we use in our daily lives. Hackers understand this reality and subsequent risks to utility companies are increasing.

Ransomware attacks, such as that on Colonial Pipeline and Volue ASA (a Norwegian company), show an increasing trend where hackers target the smaller and medium sized utility companies they perceive as “easier targets”. President Biden’s National Cyber Strategy will increase regulation on utilities companies in an attempt to mitigate the increasing threat of a catastrophic cyber attack.