Does procurement have a role to play in cyber security?

Jan 19 2015, 12:22 PM5 min read

In the past few months alone there has been a significant number of cyber attacks on high profile targets including Sony Pictures, celebrities’ phones and personal computers, and, just recently, an attack on the US Military Command’s Twitter account.

Now, as the World Economic Forum labels emerging technologies as one of the major global risks for 2015 in light of these attacks, we consider what procurement can do to aid organisational efforts in cyber security.

How big a worry is this?

If the WEF is highlighting it as a major global risk, then it’s certainly something to be taking seriously. Emerging technologies will allow hackers and cyber terrorists to carry out attacks that are more sophisticated and harder to stop. Additionally, there is a reported increasing skills shortage in cyber security personnel, expected to peak in 2017.

However, it’s not all bad news. The high-profile attacks have helped increase the focus on this subject. As a result, the UK Government has issued advice and information to organisations to help them be cyber-safe, as well as signing up to a second US-UK Cyber Security Innovation Summit. There are also now cyber governance health checks and a Cyber Essentials Scheme available to help organisations.

Procurement’s Role

A representative from the organisation that compiled the WEF report, Marsh & McLennan Companies, was quoted as saying “As a company you are not protected [against cyber attacks] unless your supply chain is protected.”

So what can Procurement do to help? Individually, you can do everything you would do to protect your personal accounts and computers:

Report all phishing and suspicious e-mails
Don’t click on links in e-mails unless you are sure of the source
Be wary of unsolicited e-mails asking for information

There are other steps that you can take as part of an organisation to assist with the overall security

Ensure your knowledge is up to date by attending conferences
Work with suppliers to put security plans in place
Make security plans part of your evaluations
Take responsibility in your team for checking and ensuring compliance
Investigate the Cyber Essentials Scheme

By making this part of day-to-day activities, procurement can do its bit to make organisations more secure.

Biggest Global Challenges in 2015 – https://www.procurious.com/blog/trending/what-are-the-biggest-global-challenges-in-2015

Cyber Security Boost – https://www.business-cloud.com/articles/news/cyber-security-boost-uk-firms

Cyber Essentials Scheme (UK) – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0914-cyber-essentials-scheme-certification

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