Gaps remain in supply chain cyber security even as digitalisation accelerates

According to eft’s new State of Logistics Technology 2019 report, 65% of logistics solution and service providers lack a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

There are no shortage of stories illustrating the dangers of lax cyber security in logistics, with the biggest attacks able to utterly paralyse an operation and cause millions in losses. Despite this obvious danger, efforts to improve cyber security are progressing slowly, finds eft’s new State of Logistics Technology 2019 report, which is free to download now.

The report surveyed shippers, logistics service providers and solutions providers. Across all three verticals within the industry, none has a majority of firms employing a CISO. Only 35% of both solutions and service providers had a CISO, lagging behind 43% of shippers.

Reinforcing the current limits of cyber security investment, more than 20% of logistics service and solution providers also said that they did not think they had any need to put in place a CISO.

This comes despite the increasing value and role of IT across the supply chain. More than two thirds of respondents to the survey reported that they are increasing their IT spend and nearly half of the survey sample believe that AI will have a major effect on the industry over the next five years.

Following our report last year, companies have made a positive change in cybersecurity training programmes for staff, with 50% now satisfied with the quality of training on offer. The severity of the threat posed by malicious actors in the logistics space has begun to sink in and employees are being educated on common phishing attacks, password security and proper authentication protocols. Of all respondents, solutions providers were the most satisfied with the quality of their training, but shippers and service providers were equally as pleased - an improvement upon 2018.

Download the full report here.

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