@Risk

Despite widespread awareness, cyberattacks are becoming  increasingly common.

As remarkable as it sounds, a new study from HP and the Ponemon Institute found that over a four-week period, the organizations surveyed experienced 72 successful attacks per week, an increase of nearly 45 percent from last year. (Note: More than 90 percent of all cybercrime costs were caused by malicious code, denial of service, stolen devices and web-based attacks.)

Of course, the financial impact of a cyberattack can be devastating. The Second Annual Cost of Cyber Crime Study also revealed that the median annualized cost of cybercrime incurred by a benchmark sample of organizations was $5.9 million per year, with a range of $1.5 million to $36.5 million each year per organization. This represents an increase of 56 percent from the median cost reported in the inaugural study published in July 2010. (Note: More than 90 percent of all cybercrime costs were caused by malicious code, denial of service, stolen devices and web-based attacks.)

Interestingly, the study looked deeper into the economic costs of cybercrime and found that: (more…)

US lawmakers are growing impatient to break China’s monopoly on global production of rare earth elements (REEs), a handful of minerals essential to the manufacture of high-tech gadgets and critical to the development of many new “green” technologies.

REEs are actually more abundant than many commonplace industrial metals. In fact, back in 2010, the US Geological Survey (USGS) released a report revealing that 13 million metric tons of rare earths exist within known deposits in 14 US states.

However, REEs are typically very difficult to extract. Consequently, the US has not mined REEs in more than a decade, and now we are completely (100 percent) dependent on foreign sources for REEs, 97 percent of which are provided by China.

Fortunately, there are new signs that perhaps this trend may be beginning to reverse its course. (more…)

Companies are struggling to comply with increased regulations and the growing complexities of financial reporting and tax rules.

In fact, a recent survey by Ernst & Young found that nearly two-thirds of financial executives feel changing regulations will challenge their compliance and reporting processes.

Remarkably, 64 percent of the Fortune Global 500 participating in this study said their companies experienced unplanned tax audits within the past year, with almost half receiving unexpected tax assessments or penalties.

The survey results, summarized in the report Seizing the opportunity in Global Compliance and Reporting, identified key areas where companies can improve global compliance and reporting (GCR). For instance:

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North American manufacturing suppliers are generally healthier than they were in 2009.

But, we’re not out of the woods, yet.

BBK, a business advisory and performance improvement firm, says that among the private companies it analyzes, 65 percent now rate as financially stable, compared to only 46 percent that earned that rating back in 2009.

However, nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of those in the latest BBK ratings are still showing signs of financial distress. As a result, many manufacturers remain concerned that their suppliers’ financial health can deteriorate quickly and potentially disrupt their operations. (more…)

Even though many have had to cope firsthand with disruptions caused by recent natural disasters such as Iceland’s volcanic eruption or the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, executives now see cyber attacks –rather than physical attacks –as potentially the most damaging to their supply chains, according to new report from PwC.

The report, Volume 4 of the Transport & Logistics’ 2030 series Securing the Supply Chain, is a joint project between PwC and the Supply Chain Management Institute (SMI) at EBS Business School in Germany.  It warns that cyber attacks are now so sophisticated that any business, or even country, could be at risk. (The German internet, for example, is attacked every two seconds, PwC says.)

On average, the 80 science, government and business executives polled agreed that there is a 56 percent probability of a rise in attacks in some form. Overall, those surveyed said they were even more concerned about hacker attacks affecting their supply chains than they were about actual physical attacks.

In addition, survey respondents said there was a 70 percent probability of logistics companies having to perform obligatory security checks on their whole supply chain, and they said there was a 60 percent probability that modern technology would offer businesses better protection.
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