The explosive growth of connected devices and vehicles is creating more cyber security threats for the trucking industry, especially for smaller businesses, reports Fleet Owner.
The rapid growth of Internet-connected “smart” devices and commercial truck telematics networks is exposing businesses to a higher risk of cyber-attack many are not prepared for according to a new survey by insurance firm Nationwide.
The poll found that almost eight in 10 small business owners don’t maintain a cyber-attack response plan even though a majority of them (63%) say they’ve been victims of at least one type of cyber-attack. Among the small businesses that did not maintain cyber-attack response plans, 46% said they felt their current software is secure enough, while 40% said they didn’t think they’d suffer a cyber-attack, reports the magazine.
“The Internet is evolving into something that connects everything and everyone,” said Michael Kaiser, executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance. “Our vehicles are quickly morphing into ‘smartphones on wheels,’ the number of connected devices at home and at work is rapidly rising.”
As a result, transformational technologies are on the horizon, but to reap the many benefits, businesses need to safeguard against cyber criminals by knowing how to keep devices secure, understand what data is being collected and where it’s being stored, and how to take advantage of any available user controls for the device, says Kaiser.
Meanwhile, the costs of cybercrime are rising, according to IBM, which says the problem costs US businesses about $100 billion every year.
“Organizations are embracing the digital world with enthusiasm, but there must be a corresponding uptick in addressing the increasingly sophisticated cyber threats,” noted Ken Allan, global cybersecurity leader at consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY).
EY recently surveyed 1,755 organizations from 67 countries regarding the cybersecurity issues facing businesses today and found:
- 88% do not believe their information technology (IT) security structure fully meets their organization’s needs.
- More than one-third (36%) said they still lack confidence in their ability to detect sophisticated cyberattacks.
- More than half (57%) said that the contribution and value that the information security function provides to their organization is compromised by the lack of skilled talent available, compared with 53% of respondents indicating that the situation is deteriorating, rather than improving.
- The most likely sources of cyberattacks are still criminal syndicates (59%), hacktivists (54%) and state-sponsored groups (35%). However, compared with EY’s survey last year, respondents rated these sources as more likely: up from 53%, 46%, and 27%, respectively, in 2014.
Read the full article here: