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Approximately a third of company heads have reported a significant increase in online breaches targeting their supply chains during the previous half-year, as high-profile digital attacks on well-known companies have underscored this growing risk to contemporary enterprises.

Digital risks rise priority lists for procurement managers

Online protection issues have climbed the list of priorities for supply chain executives at multiple companies globally across various business fields including manufacturing, power and technology, according to latest industry research carried out in September.

Prominent cyber incidents result in substantial financial losses

Latest cyber attacks at several prominent businesses have resulted in losses of millions of money, moving online protection from being mainly the concern of technology teams to becoming a significant preoccupation for senior management and company directors.

The nature of international commerce, the way we view global supply chains and the digital logistics landscape are ever more linked,

remarked a senior professional association head.

Geopolitical considerations add to distribution anxieties

Earlier this year, supply chain managers were particularly concerned about geopolitical instability, including ongoing disputes in several parts of the world, along with international tariff measures that impacted worldwide business.

Nevertheless, cyber threats are now competing with global tensions and trade disagreements as the most significant risk for organizations of international trade associations.

Survey indicates extensive effect

The research discovered that nearly 30% of executives stated that organizations within their supply chains had been targeted by digital attacks in previous months.

Significant automotive effects

An important car company experienced factory closures and was could not to manufacture cars for an entire month, following a security incident that required the organization to disable computer systems across various international locations.

The financial consequences of this month-long manufacturing halt at the UK's biggest vehicle producer has been estimated at approximately one hundred twenty million pounds in foregone income, or 1.7 billion pounds in missed sales, according to expert assessment from a business economics expert.

Latest international examples

During the autumn, a prominent Japanese brewing group became the most recent corporation to be compelled to stop production at its home country facilities following a security incident.

The organization, which manages multiple manufacturing plants in the Asian nation producing alcoholic beverages and other products, reported that its transaction handling functions, along with delivery systems and client support operations, had been interrupted following a technical failure resulting from the cyber-attack.

Increasing interconnectedness generates risks

Companies are progressively supported by other organizations. No longer exist the times of viewing an company as an operation functioning in independence.

Latest high-profile digital breaches have functioned as a important lesson to companies to invest in strong cybersecurity measures, to secure their internal functions and maintain customer confidence, leading them to examine how their logistics networks could become likely objectives for cyber criminals.