Grocery Execs Unprepared for Cyberattacks: Report

While most grocery executives believe that they're prepared for cyberattacks, many actually face issues that put them at a severe disadvantage, new findings from New York-based research and consulting firm Deloitte have revealed.

More than three-quarters (76 percent) of retail and CPG executives reported high confidence in their ability to respond to a cyberincident, according to “Cyber Risk in Consumer Business.”  However, four out of five (82 percent) surveyed companies haven't tested cyber-response plans in the past year, and fewer than half (46 percent) perform war games and threat simulations on a quarterly or semiannual basis.

Additionally, one in three (32 percent) executives aren't confident that their cyber-risk management program is effective in maintaining their strategy to develop and market connected partners.

“In the study, we found that just 30 to 40 percent of companies currently investing in platforms such as consumer analytics, cloud integration, connected products and mobile payments have mature programs in place to address related risks,” said Barb Renner, vice chairman of Deloitte LLP and U.S. consumer products leader. “Many of these technologies involve a broad set of data types that could expose consumers to much more than stolen credit cards and identity theft. Beyond customer data, the risks can range from protecting food safety in manufacturing and supply chains to intellectual property of new products and formulas.”

Added Renner: “Allowing cyber-response planning to lag can undercut the upside of investments in advanced digital technologies. It can become a one-step-forward-two-steps-back proposition to pursue advanced technologies without equal attention to cyberthreats.”

Grocery executives need to line up their concerns with those of their patrons, or risk losing them. Many U.S. consumers already express heightened security concerns, and their actions in response can threaten critical engagement touchpoints for consumer businesses. In 2016, about 80 percent of U.S. consumers felt they'd lost control over how their personal information was being used by companies. Additionally, over the past 12 months, 31 percent of U.S. consumers deleted apps on their smartphones, while 27 percent avoided specific websites to mitigate their own cyber-risk.

“A brand’s reputation impacts consumer trust, but it also dictates brand swagger,” said Chuck Saia, CEO of Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory. “Brand trust starts at the top, and leaders who continually earn the confidence of consumers can walk with that swagger. Taking brand reputation personally, and setting the expectation that everyone in the organization does as well, can help ensure potential risks to brand trust and reputation are quickly recognized and addressed.”