Rebuilding Trust Following a Cyber Attack

Warren Buffett once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Rarely can the ‘sage of Omaha’ be disputed, but on his point around timing, five minutes is a very long time in today’s real-time world when you’re dealing with a cyberattack. Cybersecurity is one of the most critical commercial and reputational risks facing South African organisations today. No sector is immune, and no business can afford to be unaware of their vulnerabilities or have robust practices in place to manage them.

Cybersecurity is one of the most critical commercial and reputational risks facing South African organisations today. No sector is immune, and no business can afford to be unaware of their vulnerabilities or have robust practices in place to manage them. This mounting risk, coupled with the always-on nature of news means that companies face round-the-clock scrutiny. Globalisation, investor activism, regulatory change, political and cyber risk are all contributing to increased business vulnerability which is amplifying the need for companies to carefully consider their ability to respond effectively.

Cyber risk is no longer just a technical issue, while both prevention and response need to be comprehensively embedded in people and systems. For it is how an organisation responds to an incident that is often as important as the incident itself.

The Scale of the Problem

The global move towards increased digitisation and cloud migration, combined with a regulatory and judicial environment that is pursuing greater effectiveness leaves us in an exposed.