As the World Economic Forum ranked cyber as a top-five global risk in terms of likelihood and potential impact over the next 10 years in its report Global Risks 2012, an audit firm showed what a cyber attack can mean for businesses in a mocked up boardroom scenario session at Davos, chaired by PwC chairman Ian Powell.
Ian Powell, PwC chairman, said: “The alarming growth in cyber crime highlights the challenge that all global business leaders face. Although they might be aware of the threat they are not necessarily equipped to respond effectively, so it’s important to discuss the issues at a platform like Davos. After all, cyber is a global risk that knows no boundaries.”
In the session, PwC cyber security and crisis management experts discussed emerging cyber security issues and what can be done to protect organisations. Using a group of actors, the innovative session will provide insight on what can happen when an organisation suffers a cyber security attack, the impact if it is not dealt with appropriately and the key issues that senior leaders need to consider.
William Beer, PwC director in the UK cyber and information security practice, said: “Cyber security is not just an IT issue. All public and private sector organisations need to transform their mindset and capability to address this growing threat. Often CEOs aren’t particularly cyber savvy. Leaders generally see cyber as a technical issue and fail to appreciate the business impact of an attack. As a result, interaction between relevant teams is often unpractised, and decision making and communication under pressure are untested.
“Recent attacks have shown incredible resourcefulness and ability on the part of the criminals and even the most cyber savvy organisations have found themselves exposed and ill prepared to manage the effects. The cyber threat is very real and businesses need to allocate proportionate time and resource.”
PwC was hosting a real time cyber crisis with actors in the Romeo & Julia suite of the Steigenberger Belvedere hotel, WEF Forum, Davos-Klosters, on 25 January 2012. Entitled What a Cyber Attack looks like – Raising awareness of cyber space risks for government and business leaders, the session is designed to bring the cyber threat to life and highlight the risks organisations face if they don’t have a comprehensive response capability. This short video gave an introduction to the opportunities and threats of cyber crime.
