What are digital security risks?

In our latest reporting guide we explore the need for robust digital security reporting considering the ever-evolving digital landscape and increase in cyber threats.

But what exactly is classed as a digital security risk? In this article we look at the different types of risk under three key areas: Operational, Financial, and Stakeholders. 

Malware: Malicious software, such as viruses, ransomware, or spyware, could infiltrate security systems and compromise data integrity, disrupt operations, and steal sensitive information.

Phishing attacks: Fraudulent attempts could be made to deceive employees into revealing sensitive information such as passwords or financial details.

Social engineering: More sophisticated phishing attacks manipulate individuals into revealing confidential information, or even performing actions that will compromise security.

Insider threats: Employees, or those with authorised access to systems, may intentionally, or unintentionally, release confidential data or leak sensitive information.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS): These attacks flood a company's network, website, or systems with large amounts of traffic, usually rendering them inaccessible to customers or users.

Business disruption: Each of these attacks can lead to operational impacts, which can cause productivity and revenue losses.

Regulatory and legal: Some incidents could lead to legal actions from affected parties or even regulatory bodies.

Recovery costs: After an attack, a company must invest in remediation efforts to prevent further incidents. Investigations, security measures and potential upgrades of systems are all costly.

Insurance premiums: If a company has cybersecurity insurance, an incident can lead to increased premiums.

Third-party risks: Stakeholders, and the third parties they use, may have weak security measures, and introduce risks to a company’s digital infrastructure.

Data sharing or leaks: Stakeholders may intentionally, or unintentionally, share sensitive company data via unsecured channels or not securing devices properly.

Negligence: Stakeholders could be unaware of a company's security policies and not attend mandatory training for employees, leading to greater risks of malware infections.

It is crucial for companies to implement comprehensive security measures, such as firewalls, antivirus software, employee training programmes, strong access controls, regular system updates, and incident response plans to mitigate these operational-level security threats.

In order to move forward with your digital security reporting, you will need to assess your digital preparedness and look to implement frameworks for your reporting, taking multiple areas into consideration. For more information about how to effectively prepare and communicate your digital security reporting, see our reporting guide, Understanding and preparing for digital security reporting, or talk to our team about how we can help.