Cyber risk tops Allianz Risk Barometer
Cyber incidents tops the Allianz Risk Barometer for only the second time in the survey’s history (44 percent of responses), business interruption drops to a close second (42 percent) and natural catastrophes ranks third (25percent), up from sixth in 2021. Climate change climbs to its highest-ever ranking of sixth (17 percent, up from ninth), while pandemic outbreak drops to fourth (22 percent). The annual survey from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) incorporates the views of 2,650 experts in 89 countries and territories, including CEOs, risk managers, brokers and insurance experts.
“’Business interrupted’ will likely remain the key underlying risk theme in 2022,” AGCS CEO Joachim Mueller summarised. “For most companies the biggest fear is not being able to produce their products or deliver their services. 2021 saw unprecedented levels of disruption, caused by various triggers. Crippling cyber-attacks, the supply chain impact from many climate change-related weather events, as well as pandemic-related manufacturing problems and transport bottlenecks wreaked havoc. This year only promises a gradual easing of the situation, although further Covid-19-related problems cannot be ruled out. Building resilience against the many causes of business interruption is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage for companies.”
Cyber incidents ranks as a top three peril in most countries surveyed. Recent attacks have shown worrying trends such as ‘double extortion’ tactics combining the encryption of systems with data breaches; exploiting software vulnerabilities which potentially affect thousands of companies or targeting physical critical infrastructure.
Pandemic outbreak remains a major concern for companies but drops from second to fourth position (although the survey predated the emergence of the Omicron variant). The majority of respondents (80 percent) think they are adequately or well-prepared for a future incident. Improving business continuity management is the main action companies are taking to make them more resilient.
The rise of natural catastrophes and climate change to third and sixth position respectively is telling, with both upwards trends closely related. Recent years have shown the frequency and severity of weather events are increasing due to global warming.
