Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/826629
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 MAY 2017 49 JOSEPH PULLICINO GRANT THORNTON PARTNER IT BUSINESS RISK & OUTSOURCING NEW research from Grant Thornton re- veals that businesses in developed Western economies are leaving themselves vulnera- ble to data theft. The figures show that busi- nesses in some regions, notably those in developed Western economies, take a less sophisticated approach to cybersecurity than businesses in developing economies. According to Grant Thornton's Interna- tional Business Report (IBR), a lower pro- portion of businesses in regions such as the businesses in the EU (53%), North America (54%) and the G7 (55%) underperform in comparison to businesses in Asia Pacific (60%), Africa (64%) and ASEAN (66%). Many organisations in developed econo- mies therefore take an underdeveloped ap- proach to cybersecurity. As such, business- es in western countries, including the US (54%), the UK (50%), Germany (49%) and France (40%), are less likely to assign risk profiles to their data than Thailand (78%), Malaysia (70%) and China (61%). These figures have uncovered a worrying tendency among businesses in some of the world's largest economies. It shows that businesses in countries in the EU have not taken the right steps to identify their most valuable data and assign greater levels of protection to it. Instead, the approach seems to be to simply apply a baseline level of security to all data. But all business data is not created equal. It's always the case that some data is more valuable, and therefore more vulnerable, than others. Organisations in countries such as the UK, Germany, France, as well as Malta urgently need to recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach to cybersecurity leaves them open to hugely damaging at- tacks. The IBR data has previously found that more than one in five (21%) of business globally had faced a cyber-attack over the year from Q3 2016. Businesses in the EU (32%), G7 (26%) and North America (24%) were more vulnerable than those in the Asia-Pacific (13%) and ASEAN (7%) re- gions. We know that businesses in the regions which are less likely to assign risk profiles to their data have previously been the ones who reported greater levels of cyber-at- tacks. It's high time that they put two and two together, and realise that their current approach means that they're often invest- ing their resources to protect data of little value, while their most critical assets are more exposed than they should be. Grant Thornton's cyber security and privacy team has significant experience in assessing, improving and embedding con- trols to better align exposure to risk appe- tite. We have worked with organisations of all sizes across all industries and can tailor our services to meet specific client needs across a wide range of topics, including cy- ber security, cybercrime, digital security, vendor assurance and data privacy. Grant Thornton's methodology revolves around four main steps - preparation, protection, reaction and change. The first step should see the business un- derstand its current exposure to cyber-se- curity risk and develop an effective security capability. This includes include elements such as cyber-security risk and threat as- sessments; security policy development; security process or technical assessments; and third-party cyber-security assurance. Protective steps follow, where the busi- ness develops and implements the techni- cal framework and broader processes re- quired to protect. This includes elements like security architecture; security tech- nology implementations; security process design and implementation; identity and access management; privacy and data pro- tection; data classification; enterprise ap- plication integrity; business continuity and disaster recovery; and penetration testing. One must also constantly monitor their cyber-security operations, so as to help them respond rapidly and forensically in the event of a security or data breach. www.grantthornton.com.mt Business Its leaves have inspired the motif on the capitals of Corinthian pillars, and Greek mythology tells us that Apollo once loved the nymph Acantha whom he later transformed into this flower. That a plant with such classical pedigree should be reduced to a name as comical as Bear's Breeches verges on the offensive! But thankfully plants don't put much weight on the names we give them – they would smell as sweet, as it were – and so every year the Bear's Breeches (M: Ħannewija) cheerfully spreads its thick carpet of baroque leaves, and is now blooming its tall cylindrical spikes of eye-catching purple-and-white flowers. It grows in sheltered, shady places, such as underneath trees and along stretches of wayside lined with less sunny rubble walls. With most spring flowers now seeded and fading, the uncanny splendour of the Bear's Breeches flower stands out even more. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text and photo Victor Falzon Through the lens Exhibition 558. BEAR'S BREECHES GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 461 GET A FREE CALENDAR: Visit the exhibition and grab one of our 2018 calendars for free. More info: http://foemalta.org/event/through-the-lens-exhibition/ The final event of the Through the lens project consists of an exhibition portraying the nature photography work taken in Malta's Natura 2000 sites by our youth participants. The exhibition will be open until Friday 26th May (during office hours) at the MCVS Centre in Melita Street Valletta. Project participants have worked really hard and would like to share this with you all, so please some and support them. We'll also be showing the works of Johan Siggesson and Muriel Caruana. Pick up a FREE 2018 calendar featuring some of the works. 'Through the Lens' is supported by the Creative Communities Fund (Arts Council Malta) and the Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties. Friends of the Earth Malta gratefully acknowledges financial assistance from the European Union. Businesses in the EU less prepared for cyber-attacks than ASEAN and APAC