Sponsored briefing
With the disruption to businesses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic still providing fertile ground for cyber attacks, David McIlwaine and Julia Varley of Pinsent Masons look at what GCs can do to stay ready.
Cyber risk is a major threat to all businesses, irrespective of size, brand or industry. Over recent years, and particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, the threat of a cyber-attack has increased significantly. There is a growing prevalence of ransomware being deployed across all business types and sectors. With the increased regulation of data on a global basis, and a focus by industry regulators on protecting data, a cyber-attack can and does have a very significant impact on business, including: immediate operational impact, substantial management time being diverted to deal with the situation, loss of business, reputational damage, the risk of multiple regulatory investigations and fines. Further, an entitlement to compensation for data subjects affected by a breach of legislation has led to increased risk of litigation in this area.
As a result, it is imperative that organisations take appropriate steps to become ‘cyber-ready’, putting themselves in a better position to respond to an incident quickly, with an established internal procedure in place and rehearsed. As we explain in this article, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has an increased expectation that organisations should now anticipate and plan for cyber attacks.
