- cyber perils are the biggest concern for companies globally in 2022.
- cyber incidents top the Allianz Risk Barometer for only the second time in the survey’s history.
- business interruption (BI) ranks as the second most concerning risk.
A risk barometer for 2022 has been published that outlines the major concerns for the companies and how the pandemic has affected their business, reports Assafina Online.
Risks and cyber perils
According to the report, cyber perils are the biggest concern for companies globally in 2022, as the threat of ransomware attacks, data breaches or major IT outages worries companies even more than business and supply chain disruption, natural disasters or the Covid-19 pandemic.
In fact, cyber incidents top the Allianz Risk Barometer for only the second time in the survey’s history (44% of responses), with Business interruption dropping to a close second (42%) and Natural catastrophes ranking third (25%), up from sixth in 2021.
Moreover, climate change rose to its highest-ever ranking of sixth (17%, up from ninth), while Pandemic outbreak drops to fourth (22%).
Ransomware drives cyber concerns
Cyber incidents rank as a top-three peril in most countries surveyed, and the main driver is the recent increase in ransomware attacks, which are confirmed as the top cyber threat for the year ahead by survey respondents (57%).
Namely, attacks have shown worrying trends such as ‘double extortion’ tactics combining the encryption of systems with data breaches; exploiting software vulnerabilities that potentially affect thousands of companies or targeting physical critical infrastructure.
Cyber security also ranks as companies’ major environmental social governance (ESG) concern with respondents acknowledging the need to build resilience and plan for future outages or face the growing consequences from regulators, investors and other stakeholders.
On the other hand, business interruption (BI) ranks as the second most concerning risk. According to the survey, the most feared cause of BI is cyber incidents, reflecting the rise in ransomware attacks but also the impact of companies’ growing reliance on digitalization and the shift to remote working.
Natural catastrophes and pandemics are the two other important triggers for BI in the view of respondents.
In the past year, post-lockdown surges in demand have combined with disruption to production and logistics, as Covid-19 outbreaks in Asia closed factories and caused record congestion levels in container shipping ports.
Now, pandemic-related delays affected other supply chain issues, like the Suez Canal blockage or the global shortage of semiconductors after plant closures in Taiwan, Japan and Texas from weather events and fires.
Other concerns and pandemic preparation
While pandemic outbreak remains a major concern for companies, it dropped from second to the fourth position. The Covid-19 crisis still overshadows the economic outlook in many industries, but businesses feel they have adapted well.
More specifically, the majority of respondents (80%) think they are enough or well-prepared for a future incident.
In addition, the rise of Natural catastrophes and Climate change to third and sixth position respectively is revealing. Allianz says that recent years have shown the frequency and severity of weather events are increasing due to global warming.
Moreover, Allianz Risk Barometer respondents are most concerned about climate-change-related weather events causing damage to corporate property (57%), followed by BI and supply chain impact (41%).
Shortage of skilled workforce
13% is a new entry in the top 10 risks at number nine. Attracting and retaining workers has rarely been more challenging. Respondents rank this as a top five risk in the engineering, construction, real estate, public service and healthcare sectors, and as the top risk for transportation.
In fact, the most recent Seafarer Workforce Report from BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping warns that the industry must significantly increase training and recruitment levels, in order to avoid a serious shortage in the total supply of officers by 2026.
Changes in legislation and regulation
Changes in legislation and regulation remain fifth (19%). Prominent regulatory initiatives on companies’ radars in 2022 include anti-competitive practices targeting big tech, as well as sustainability initiatives with the EU taxonomy scheme.
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Source: Assafina Online
