Cybercrime set to escalate in Ireland driven by greater reliance on the cloud and third-party providers.
Cybercrime will continue to escalate in 2023 in Ireland in areas such as business email compromise/account takeover, ransomware, cloud security and third party breaches., according to new research from PwC.
88% of Irish executives stated that their organisation had experienced an increase in cyber attacks since 2020 due to increased digital acceleration.
“We see companies strengthening their cyber defences and regulators are applying pressure to improve cyber resilience and build public trust”
One in four (27%) companies around the world have suffered a data breach that cost them between $1 – 20 million or more in the past three years.
A break in the clouds
A large majority of business not fully mitigating cyber risks in a number of critical areas.
Reliance on cloud and outsourcing to significantly increase cyber risk – Outsourcing to third-party service providers expected to significantly impact unauthorised access to IT systems in 2023 (Ireland: 42%; Global: 34%).
75% of Irish organisations plan to increase their cybersecurity budget for 2023 in order to protect their organisations and information assets from these cyberattacks.
Reflective of enhanced cloud-based solutions imposed by COVID-19, the reliance on third-party providers is leading to a more complex cybersecurity risk profile. 88% of Irish executives admitted that their organisation had experienced an increase in cyber attacks since 2020 due to enhanced digitisation (Global: 89%). Worryingly, just 11% of Irish executives confirmed to have fully mitigated cybersecurity risks associated with accelerated cloud adoption in 2022 (Global: 16%). Outsourcing to third-party service providers is expected to significantly impact unauthorised access to IT systems in 2023 (Ireland: 42%; Global: 34%).
For operations-focused global executives surveyed, cybersecurity of the supply chain is a major concern. Nine in ten expressed concern about their organisation’s ability to withstand a cyberattack that disrupts their supply chain, with 56% extremely or very concerned.
“Driven by events no-one could have foreseen, business leaders in recent years have pushed their companies and themselves beyond their comfort zones – out of the office to remote workplaces, into the cloud and along supply chains that are nearly completely digital. With each new venture has come new cyber risks which are on the rise,” explained Leonard McAuliffe, Partner, PwC Ireland Cybersecurity Practice
“We expect cyberattacks to escalate in 2023 in Ireland and globally with ransomware not abating. Cybercrime is one of the main causes of financial and reputational damage for organisations across the world, and is a growing concern for businesses.
“Data breaches are also a pervasive threat in today’s digital world. As cyber threats continue to increase in frequency and sophistication, a holistic approach to cybersecurity has become a top priority for C-suites and Boards. We see companies strengthening their cyber defences and regulators are applying pressure to improve cyber resilience and build public trust.”
