Page 28 - PWM2025_NOVEMBER EBOOK

TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Cyber risks: Are suppliers the

weakest link?

eanwhile, the recent mayhem at Jaguar Old, is a case in point; it went into administration in 2023
Land Rover (apparently resolved as this after critical financial data was corrupted – all because of
The hacking of corpo- issue went to press), is a testament to weak password that was easily guessable. And then there
was Travelex that experienced a ransomware attack that
rates to steal or cause just how far-reaching a successful attack shut down its operations in 30 countries. The company
can be.
mayhem is nothing M These companies have much that apparently negotiated with the attackers who agreed to
new, but in recent can be taken – customer data, large bank balances and a settle for a payment of $2.3m in bitcoin. But like the 92%
times big names such reputation; all make for very attractive targets for cyber of companies that pay ransoms without fully recovering
as Adidas andThe criminals. their data, Travelex wasn’t able to go back to business as
North Face have been But just because big names are the ones making the usual, after settling up with the hackers. Instead, it ended
attacked, as have news doesn’t remove smaller businesses from the firing up restructuring via administration and a pre-pack sale,
and 1,300 jobs were lost.
retailers such as line. So, what exactly are the risks and what can a printing
Businesses might think that they are susceptible to
Marks & Spencer and hackers and so seek to protect their own systems. But not business do to protect itself?
Harrods who were all all think that an attack might come via a third-party sup-
hacked via supplier plier involved in a digital supply chain. Understand the problem
systems. Given that stock and materials are an expense which Stewart Watkins, a fractional IT manager for the BPIF
many curb holdings of to control cost, any attack on a sup- and founding director of Lighthouse IT, warns firms that
plier could not only lead to infiltration of the customer’s the threats should not be underestimated, noting that
Words by
systems but just as problematically, disruption to supply. events can be brutal as seen with the recent attacks on
Adam Bernstein
Worse, cyber attacks have caused the total failure of retailers.
businesses. 158-year-old haulage company, Knights of He details that “print companies tend to be hybrid or

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