As an SME, are you aware of the impact you have on your customer as part of their supply chain?
Indirect cyberattacks through the supply chain are increasing at an alarming rate. Any provider can be the single point of failure that can lead to disastrous consequences.
On 4 June 2024, a ransomware attack on Synnovis, a pathology services provider to the NHS, led to significant disruption to NHS services in London. As a result, 10,152 acute outpatient appointments and 1,710 elective procedures were postponed at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Five cases of moderate harm and 114 cases of low harm were reported later that year, followed by reports of two patients showing long-term/permanent damage to their Health. From a financial perspective, the impact of the Synnovis attack is estimated at £32.7M, and the government estimates that, hypothetically, a cyberattack focused on key energy services in the South East of England could wipe out over £49 billion from the wider UK economy. The same source states that in the year to September 2024, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) managed 430 cyber incidents, with 89 of these being classed as nationally significant–a rate of almost two every week.’
In the EU and UK, essential organisations must carry out security risk assessments for their supply chains, covering:
• Measures
• Mitigation plans
• Best practices to counter:
• Critical dependencies
• Potential single points of failure
• Threats
• Vulnerabilities and other risks associated with the supply chain
Whilst cyber regulations such as the EU Network Information Security Directive (NIS2) and the UK Cyber Security and Resilience Bill do not apply to everyone, especially small and micro businesses, the threat to SMEs remains and can impact both you and your customers. To be competitive as a supplier of goods, services, or solutions, you must ensure that you meet at least the minimum security measures.
To learn more, watch our upcoming SME Insights webinar series, or contact us for a free assessment to find out how you can be safe, competitive, and compliant where required.
