Cybersecurity is one of the biggest challenges in supply chain management. The supply chain, after all, is a complex network of interconnected businesses and individuals that share information and resources to produce and distribute products and services. While this system has been built with efficiency in mind, it also creates significant opportunities for hackers to access sensitive information about the company or its customers. The FBI estimates that cybercrime costs American businesses some $600 billion annually—and this figure doesn’t even include losses from physical damage caused by cyberattacks.
What Is Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity protects computer systems from theft or damage to data, as well as from disruption or misdirection of the services they provide. Cybersecurity is a growing concern for businesses, governments, and individuals across all industries. The recent Equifax breach that exposed the personal information of nearly 150 million Americans is just one example of how cybersecurity can affect millions of users in an instant.
Cybersecurity can be a complex topic due to its broad scope and ever-changing landscape. It has evolved from strictly protecting against online attacks to including physical security measures such as cameras and guards at facilities and events. To do your part in keeping your company secure, you need to understand what cyber threats exist today so that you can create effective solutions for them.
Cybersecurity Is a Supply Chain Problem
The cyberattacks of the last decade have shown how supply chain vulnerabilities can undermine a company’s reputation, threaten its survival, and even put lives at risk. The latest Equifax breach, which exposed sensitive personal data for 143 million Americans, is just one example of how cybercriminals penetrate our systems through third-party suppliers.
In fact, cybersecurity is a shared responsibility; it requires collaboration between all parties involved in delivering products and services to customers (suppliers). Supply chain security best practices should be embedded into every link in this process so that everyone along the way understands their role in ensuring information security. While technology has an important role in cybersecurity—and indeed, many companies spend billions on software solutions each year—it’s far from the end-all solution. It’s also important for organizations to understand how hackers are gaining access through both software and hardware flaws in their supply chain partners’ products or services.
Cybersecurity Strategies for the Supply Chain
Before you define a cybersecurity strategy for your supply chain, it’s important to define the problem. Cybersecurity is a hot topic, but what does that mean? What types of issues are you dealing with? The language around cybersecurity can be confusing and subjective—and it’s not even clear who should be responsible for securing data once it leaves your company’s network perimeter.
The Importance of Setting Goals Before You Start
Once you’ve defined the problem or issue (let’s say, “our servers are being hacked”), start thinking about the end goal: How do we solve this problem and prevent future attacks? This will help guide your strategy and ensure that all parties are on the same page about what needs to be done.
To ensure success in solving any complex problem, there has to be buy-in from everyone involved. That includes people from all organizational levels and outside stakeholders like customers and vendors with access to sensitive data. It also means communicating transparently about successes and challenges when things aren’t going quite according to plan. As noted above, setting goals helps drive accountability throughout an entire organization—and keeps everybody focused on achieving results instead of merely checking off boxes on some checklist only half completed due to lackadaisical effort by those involved.”
One of the biggest Challenges in Supply Chain Management is Cybersecurity
One of the biggest challenges in supply chain management is cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is an emerging field that requires innovative solutions and strategies to keep it effective and secure. A good example is how the internet of things (IoT) has been instrumental in providing new solutions for securing corporate networks. Still, many companies have been slow to adopt them because they lack expertise in cybersecurity or don’t see it as a priority.
As a result, many businesses do not have adequate data security measures, which puts them at risk. Suppose a company doesn’t take proper precautions when handling sensitive information like credit card numbers or personal details. In that case, there’s a chance that hackers will steal this information and use it against them (and their customers).
Conclusion
As we’ve seen, cybersecurity is a supply chain problem. A single breach can cost your company millions of dollars and damage its reputation, so you need to be proactive in protecting your business. If you want to learn more about what you can do to stay safe online, be sure to check out our other articles.