“Companies must realize: the chance of a cyber attack is 1 in 5”

Cybersec Europe, the annual high mass on cybersecurity, will take place later this week in Brussels Expo. Although the subject is widely discussed, many companies are insufficiently aware of the real threat, says Anne Masson, the Belgian top woman of the young Dutch SME specialist Eye Security.

Listen to Anne Masson on The Morning Drive on Business AM here:

• Eye Security helps SMEs secure what cyber experts call the “end points”, ie the company’s laptops, computers and other equipment. After strong growth in the Netherlands, the company, which was only three years young, crossed the border to our country.
• Masson points to a statistic from his own research that expresses the urgency: “It is true that the chance of a company being affected by a fire is 1 in 8,000, while the chance of a cyber attack is 1 in 5. It is therefore high time for companies to protect themselves.”
• From the city of Antwerp to car rental company Sixt to the West Flemish parts group TVH, the targets of recent cyber attacks are very diverse. Cybercriminals are not always exclusively focused on money.
• Masson: “A kind of cyber tourism has emerged, which is hackers who do it purely for money. But you also have cyber terrorism, in which cyber groups attack certain companies from a political motivation.”
• The fact that security companies discuss the latest trends and explore collaborations at a trade fair like Cybersec Europe is certainly useful given the increasing threat, says Masson. Some 145 exhibitors and 5,000 visitors are expected during this two-day event.

More in our Cybersecurity dossier