TECH & AI
“ If a supplier is subject to a cyberattack and can ’ t deliver key products , it can very quickly impact business continuity ”
JAMES TAMBLIN VICE CHAIRMAN , BLUEVOYANT
internal networks of organisations become better defended , increasingly , it ’ s suppliers who become the weak link that allows an attack .
Biggest external cybersecurity threat to supply chains ? JT : Externally , the biggest threats come from third-party organisations who perform a critical business process or deliver a key product to the first party .
In the event that a supplier or third party is subject to a cyberattack that means they are unable to deliver key products or services , this can become a big problem very quickly and may impact business continuity . What are the most important first steps in being cyber-secure ? JT : For any organisation , the most important things to do when tightening cybersecurity include :
• The relentless use of multi-factor authentication ( MFA )
• Maintaining a robust patching practice
• Continual cybersecurity awareness training ; and
• Using software applications that are wellsupported from a security perspective .
• Doing these things well will reduce any organisation ’ s cyber risk significantly .
PB : The first step is for the company to understand the breadth , depth and location of its information assets . You cannot mitigate , protect and control what you don ’ t know about .
Organisations should also be prepared to be surprised , or even shocked , at the amount of data that needs to be under control . This is particularly true of the proliferation of cloud services ’ data , for which you have accountability and is often being processed in locations of which you were not aware .
This also has a compliance and legislative impact , particularly as it relates to personal
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