Transport & storage sector firms are underestimating the impact of a cyber attack, warns Parcelhero
Companies in the UK’s transport and storage sector are “guilty of complacency” about the dangers of cyber crime, despite growing evidence of the devastating impact that supply chain hacks can cause, a new survey suggests.
The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Business Insights Survey found that just 3.9% of logistics, haulage, warehousing and parcel firms said they were concerned about cyber attacks affecting their supply chains in the coming year. That figure is far below comparable industries, with 15.1% of manufacturers and 11.7% of retailers reporting concern.
Parcelhero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., said the results show the sector risks underestimating the risks of hacking: “Transport & storage businesses could be guilty of complacency over the potential impact of a cyber attack on them or one of their key partner companies.”
He pointed out that the ONS question specifically asked about concerns over supply chain disruption. “The impact of a key partner being hacked could also be extremely destabilising for transport & storage firms,” Jinks added.
The warning comes in the wake of high-profile cyber incidents. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) was forced to halt car production throughout September after being hit by a major hack on 31 August. The attack is thought to have cost the company around £50 million a week, with the Government underwriting a £1.5 billion loan guarantee to safeguard its supply chain. Around 30,000 people are employed directly by JLR in the UK, with a further 100,000 working for its suppliers – including transport and storage partners such as Rudolph and Hellmann.
Parcelhero also highlighted that the same hacking group is believed to be behind recent cyber attacks on Marks & Spencer and the Co-op. The M&S breach disrupted online sales for months, costing the retailer an estimated ÂŁ300m in lost operating profit and affecting multiple supply chain partners.
Despite these warnings, the survey shows transport and storage businesses appear less worried now than in June, when 4.5% said they were concerned about cyber risks. Meanwhile, anxiety in other sectors has increased, with manufacturers’ concerns rising from 9.1% to 15.1% and retailers’ from 8.1% to 11.7%.
Jinks said this decline in concern indicates a worrying lack of awareness: “These responses may indicate a lack of awareness of the increasing dangers of a cyber attack on transport & storage companies’ own systems or those of their key partners.”
Parcelhero is urging logistics and storage firms to take cyber security more seriously and to learn from recent industry-shaking incidents.