SupplyChain Magazine July 2019 | Page 58

TECHNOLOGY
58

Research from Ponemon Institute indicates that cybersecurity is a growing supply-chain challenge , with 56 % of organisations reporting to have had a breach that was caused by one of their third-party vendors . As the supply chain becomes increasingly more connected through digital transformation , the exposure to potential cyberattack increases . There is , therefore , a critical need for organisations to effectively secure their supply chain ecosystems and mitigate risk as much as possible . The supply chain is the backbone of an organisation but just one broken link in the ever-complex supply chain can send shockwaves throughout the rest of the associated suppliers and potentially leave the entire operation exposed to attack .

A dynamic supply chain is essential in the modern industry , but each new supplier only adds to an organisation ’ s vulnerability in terms of security . Following the Equifax hack , both Visa and Master- Card alerted that 200,000 credit cards may have been compromised as a direct result . Every thirdparty supplier along the Equifax supply chain was consequently exposed to increased risk . Equifax subsequently published a report following the data breach to raise awareness of threats caused by supply chain security . The report found that 32 % of businesses don ’ t know where all of their third-party suppliers store personal data and 25 %
JULY 2019