Cyber risk remains a key focus for directors

Directors perceive cyber-attacks to be the biggest threat to New Zealand businesses in 2017, with 79 percent of those surveyed rating the impact on their organisations strategic growth, operational efficiency and legal/ contractual compliance as medium or high.

Some 65 percent of respondents believe the risk environment will increase during 2017, in the public sector that perception is shared by 83 percent of directors.

The third Directors’ Risk Survey by Marsh of Institute of Directors’ (IoD) members, designed to gauge director views on a wide range of risk issues, says cyber-attacks, technological disruption, reputational risk, and the time spent on risk oversight remain a key focus for directors.

Technology-related risks top this year’s lists for both external (cyberattack) and internal (major IT incident) risks considered to have the greatest potential impact to businesses. Seventy five percent of directors surveyed considered an IT disruption to be a high or medium internal risk.