Lack of Preparation and Apathy – Cyber Security Poll

The results from our latest poll suggest two possible areas of concern for advice practices when it comes to cyber security measures:

• Lack of preparation
• Apathy

As we go to print, just under half (48%) of those voting in our poll think their advice practice has already taken appropriate steps to mitigate the impact of a cyber attack on their business systems. The rest are evenly split between conceding the appropriate measures aren’t yet in place (26%) or they’re unsure (also 26%).

Also of concern – and offering full transparency – this poll currently sits in the handful of the least engaged in almost 300 polls Riskinfo has conducted since August 2008. Why is that?

One potential reason for the relative lack of engagement with this poll may reflect similar attitudes taken by many consumers to the question of life insurance. As most advisers will already be aware, consumers find it difficult to engage with the notion of life insurance because it’s an intangible product that can’t be seen or touched. Similarly, cyber security solutions are mostly digital (eg security platforms/packages) and intangible (eg staff training).

The other similarity between life insurance and cyber crime is the attitude of the consumer or advice practitioner that “It won’t happen to me.” Many small businesses – regardless of which industry in which they operate – adopt the approach that their relative size would not interest hackers. This myth, however, is dispelled by the Cyber Collective’s Fraser Jack, where he highlighted in his Riskinfocus 23 presentations that:

• Thousand of small businesses are subjected to cyber attacks by hackers
• Businesses operating in the financial services sector are 300 times more likely to be the target of a cyber attack than other industries

Is there any apathy in your business when it comes to the important issue of protecting your systems and client data from cyber criminals? Do you think it can’t or won’t happen to you and your business? Or are you able to sleep at night knowing you’ve done what’s needed to mitigate the impact of a cyber attack on your business?

Our poll remains open for another week and we welcome your thoughts…