Inflation, cyber risks the biggest worry for firms
In October 2023, a cybersecurity report released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) showed that local organisations faced a total of 123.9 million cyber threats during the three months to September.
What you need to know:
- A report by Allianz Risk Barometer in January indicated that cyber incidents came second in the rank of top worries for Kenyan firms.
- Other factors in the Allianz report included market developments, theft and fraud, business interruption, climate change and energy crisis.
Inflation and cyber-attacks have emerged as the leading concerns for business organisations for the next 12 months, with fear of exposure levels hitting 39 per cent and 37 per cent respectively for both factors according to a new report published by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).
The 2023 Global Risk Survey, which polled business leaders on the top threats that they felt extremely exposed to in the next year, also singled out among other factors macroeconomic volatility, digital and technology risks as well as climate change in that order of prominence at 33 per cent, 32 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.
Others were geopolitical conflicts (26 per cent), health risks (23 per cent), and social inequality (22 per cent).
“Technology is playing an increasingly significant role in shaping organisations’ exposure to risk, their appetite for taking a risk in pursuit of new opportunities, and the tools they are using to mitigate it and build resilience,” reads the report.
Cyber threats
“Only inflation ranks higher than cyber threats in terms of the risks respondents feel most exposed to, while other digital and tech risks are almost at par with macroeconomic volatility.”
The findings mirror those captured in the Allianz Risk Barometer at the start of the year in January, showing that cyber incidents came second in the rank of top worries for Kenyan firms, closely trailing unpredictable changes in the country’s business regulations.
Other factors in the Allianz report included market developments such as intensified competition, theft and fraud, business interruption, climate change, energy crisis, and the risk of a pandemic outbreak.
Climate change and geopolitical conflicts have, in recent times, increasingly gained prominence as new entrants in the list of factors giving business operators jitters.
Kenya’s inflation rate
Last month, a cybersecurity report released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) showed that local organisations faced a total of 123.9 million cyber threats during the three months to September, led by system attacks which accounted for 89.7 per cent of the total detected threats.
Others were malware and brute force attacks at 6.1 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively.
During the period, the regulator also issued a sum of 5.6 million advisories marking a marginal rise from the 5.3 million recorded in a similar quarter of the past year.
Inflation, which topped the PWC list in the latest report, refers to a measure of the cost of living over 12 months.
Kenya’s inflation rate dropped to 6.9 per cent in October this year down from 9.6 per cent in the same month last year, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
