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Almost a third of company heads have witnessed a marked rise in cyber-attacks targeting their logistics networks during the past six months, as recently reported security incidents on well-known companies have emphasized this growing danger to modern businesses.

Digital risks climb worry scales for procurement managers

Online protection issues have advanced the list of priorities for purchasing directors at numerous businesses worldwide across multiple sectors including production, power and tech, according to current industry research performed in early autumn.

High-profile security breaches result in significant monetary impacts

Current security breaches at several major businesses have led to financial impacts of millions of currency, shifting online protection from being mainly the concern of IT departments to becoming a primary priority for senior management and top executives.

The nature of global trade, the manner in which we look at worldwide distribution systems and the online distribution framework are ever more connected,

commented a leading industry executive.

Global factors compound logistics worries

During previous months, procurement executives were notably anxious about geopolitical instability, including continuing conflicts in several areas, along with trade policies that weighed on global commerce.

Nevertheless, digital security risks are now rivalling geopolitical shocks and commercial conflicts as the primary risk for members of worldwide commercial organizations.

Research shows extensive effect

The survey found that nearly 30% of executives reported that businesses within their logistics networks had been compromised by cyber incidents in the past few months.

Substantial car manufacturing effects

An important vehicle producer experienced factory closures and was unable to build automobiles for four weeks, following a digital breach that forced the business to shut down digital infrastructure across various global facilities.

The financial consequences of this month-long production shutdown at the UK's biggest vehicle producer has been estimated at approximately 120 million pounds in lost profits, or one point seven billion pounds in missed sales, according to university research from a corporate finance expert.

Latest international cases

During the autumn, a well-known Japanese brewing group became the newest business to be compelled to cease operations at its home country facilities following a security incident.

The company, which maintains numerous production facilities in Japan producing alcoholic beverages and additional items, stated that its order processing capabilities, along with shipping operations and client support functions, had been interrupted following a systems outage triggered by the cyber-attack.

Expanding integration creates vulnerabilities

Companies are more and more enabled by other organizations. Gone are the days of considering an organization as an entity functioning in isolation.

Current high-profile cyber-attacks have served as a strong reminder to businesses to allocate resources to robust digital defences, to protect their business activities and preserve client faith, leading them to analyze how their distribution systems could become potential objectives for hackers.