Economic Uncertainty Leads to Additional Security Risks

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A report by Claroty analyzed the effect of economic uncertainty on security risks. The report found that nearly half (49%) of respondents report that supply chain changes caused by shifting global economic policies and geopolitical tensions around the world are creating increased cyber risk to CPS assets and processes. Forty-five percent are also concerned about their ability to reduce risk to key CPS assets, and in their overall understanding of their risk posture. Additionally, 67% said that they are reconsidering the geography of their supply chain to mitigate risks to CPS posed by economic and geopolitical uncertainties.

A ripple effect of shifting supply chains is the escalation of risks associated with third-party remote access, as organizations re-evaluate their vendors and introduce new remote access tools into already complex and exposed CPS environments. Forty-six percent of respondents said they've been breached in the last 12 months because of third-party access and 54% report they've discovered security gaps or weaknesses in vendor contracts post-incident. As a result, 73% of respondents said they are re-evaluating third-party remote access to CPS operations.

Although nearly 70% of respondents said their current CPS security programs adhere to cybersecurity standards, 76% said that emerging regulations — be it government, international or industry-specific — may require their organizations to overhaul their strategies, which could cause massive disruptions to operational efficiency.

These findings highlight the importance of taking an impact-centric approach to risk reduction that focuses on regulatory outcomes and exposure management, with the top risk mitigation strategies being regular security audits (49%) and process improvements for providing change approvals (45%). This will enhance compliance efforts and uncover vulnerabilities particularly where there may be blind spots among third-party vendors.

Read the report.

KEYWORDS: security risk supply chain

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Taelor Sutherland is the Associate Editor at Security magazine. Sutherland covers news affecting enterprise security leaders, from industry events to physical & cybersecurity threats and mitigation tactics. She is also responsible for coordinating and publishing web exclusives, multimedia content, social media posts, and a number of eMagazine departments. Sutherland graduated in 2022 with a BA in English Literature from Agnes Scott College.