Companies More 'Reactive' Than 'Proactive' on Cyber-Security Issues, Say Experts

The operations and functions of various business organisations have undergone drastic changes over past several months owing to the restrictions and limitations imposed due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic at a global level. More and more businesses moved towards the online and digital sphere as countries worldwide started to put month-long lockdowns. Given massive presence of businesses in online spectrum, cyber security experts are of the view that several companies still need to be more proactive in terms of strengthening their systems against cyber attacks.Small and Medium Businesses Disclosing Data Breach 'Quickly' Incur 40% Less Financial Loss: Report

Experts however believe that with the coming in Data Privacy Bill, companies will be directly or indirectly forced to adopt better measures to make sure that their systems are better protected from the external attacks. It may also strength the entire online infrastructure and operational activities. Studies show that ever since General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was launched in Europe, more and more steps were undertaken by the companies to ensure data protection and cyber security. 5 Ways To Protect Your Business From Cybercrime.

Talking about the issue of cyber-security, Arpinder Singh, India & Emerging Markets Leader, EY Forensic & Integrity Services said, "I think some organisations have been proactive and some organisations have been reactive. Reactive means they have actually had an incident and then they have run around trying to fix it, I think some companies have been smart, when someone has been hit, they have analysed that loss and then thought of protecting themselves. But that's a slow process in the pandemic. Everyone has tight budget."

The companies are currently more reactive to the cyber-security issues rather than being proactive. According to the experts, any firm will not be willing to enhance its cyber-security until and unless an external force breaks into its system. Given the magnitude of e-commerce activities being done, owners should be careful about protecting their data. They also stress on the need of training the employees both in the government and private sectors on data security and protection.