BY Richard Summerfield
Cyber breaches and the threat posed by malicious insiders are two of the biggest risks driving investment in global forensic data analytics (FDA), according a new report from EY.
EY's 2016 global forensic data analytics survey, ‘Shifting into high gear: mitigating risks and demonstrating returns’, notes that insider threats in particular offer the biggest risk to organisations becoming a victim of fraud, corruption or data loss. The most prominent forms of inside threat, according to respondents, include malicious insiders stealing, manipulating or destroying data.
The survey questioned 665 executives globally across a wide range of industries including the financial services, life sciences, manufacturing and power and utilities sectors. From the available data, it is clear that concerns around cyber security are helping to crystalise opinions across industry boundaries; indeed, companies are turning to FDA to try to counteract cyber threats.
Companies have been spurred into action by increasing activity among cyber criminals as well as aggressive regulatory pressure. Rising demands from both governmental bodies and the general public is driving much of the investment in FDA, notes EY. Forty-three percent of respondents claimed regulatory pressure was one of the main driving forces behind their FDA investment, second only to the burgeoning threat posed by cyber crime.
Of those executives surveyed, 44 percent reported an increasing level of concern over “bribery and corruption risk” while 62 percent noted an increasing concern over “cyber breach or insider threat”.
Given the recent spate of major, headline grabbing cyber attacks, it is little surprise that breaches are weighing heavily on executive minds the world over. As companies take steps to protect their physical and digital assets from internal and external threats, the FDA will continue to play an important role in helping them navigate such risks. Given the size of the fines and sanctions imposed on companies and individuals in recent years, c-suites are understandably concerned about regulatory enforcement around cyber risk.
With the c-suite increasingly worried about the threat of cyber risk and malicious internal actors
Many companies have been pouring considerable resources into bolstering their FDA efforts in recent years. Spend is expected to continue throughout 2016. In 2014, 64 percent of those surveyed believed that their investment in FDA was adequate, while in the latest survey only 55 percent felt the same. Furthermore, three out of five respondents said they intend to increase their FDA spend over the next two years.
Report: Shifting into high gear: mitigating risks and demonstrating returns
