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Roughly one-third of corporate leaders have reported a significant increase in cyber-attacks targeting their distribution systems during the past six months, as recent digital attacks on prominent businesses have emphasized this expanding risk to today's organizations.

Online security issues rise concern rankings for purchasing directors

Digital security concerns have advanced the ranking of priorities for supply chain executives at hundreds companies worldwide across diverse sectors including industrial, energy and technology, according to latest sector analysis performed in early autumn.

High-profile cyber incidents lead to considerable monetary impacts

Current security breaches at several well-known corporations have led to financial impacts of millions of money, transitioning digital security from being mainly the concern of technology teams to becoming a significant preoccupation for corporate boards and company directors.

The essence of international commerce, how we consider international logistics networks and the online distribution framework are increasingly interconnected,

commented a prominent industry executive.

Geopolitical considerations add to distribution concerns

During previous months, purchasing directors were notably concerned about geopolitical instability, including persistent tensions in several areas, along with trade policies that affected international trade.

Nevertheless, online attacks are now competing with geopolitical shocks and trade disagreements as the main threat for organizations of worldwide commercial organizations.

Survey reveals broad impact

The survey discovered that 29% of executives stated that businesses within their supply chains had been attacked by digital attacks in the past few months.

Significant car manufacturing impact

An important vehicle producer experienced factory closures and was unable to produce vehicles for an entire month, following a security incident that compelled the organization to disable digital infrastructure across multiple global facilities.

The financial consequences of this month-long factory closure at the UK's biggest car manufacturer has been calculated at approximately 120 million pounds in missed earnings, or £1.7 billion in foregone income, according to expert assessment from a business economics professor.

Recent worldwide incidents

More recently, a well-known international drinks manufacturer became the newest organization to be compelled to stop production at its home country facilities following a digital breach.

The company, which maintains several manufacturing plants in its home country producing drinks and various goods, stated that its sales management systems, along with shipping operations and client support functions, had been halted following a network disruption caused by the security breach.

Growing integration generates risks

Companies are more and more supported by partner companies. Gone are the era of considering an company as an operation working in isolation.

Current major security incidents have served as a clear warning to companies to devote funding to strong cybersecurity measures, to protect their business activities and retain consumer trust, prompting them to analyze how their distribution systems could become potential targets for digital attackers.