In a rare, televised interview on 60 Minutes, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that his two big concerns about the U.S. economy are a resurgence of COVID-19 and, to most viewers’ surprise, cyberattacks. Although his primary focus was cyberattacks against financial institutions, cyberattack concerns can cause significant anxiety for all organizations.
Manufacturers must be made aware of this. A harmful cyberattack, or possibly worse, a ransomware attack, can have severe ramifications on their business operations.
But why are cyberattacks such a pressing issue now?
Possibly, Powell answered this best when he said, “The world evolves; risks change. I would say that the risk that we keep our eyes on the most now is cyber risk.”
Let us explore his statement a little further. Yes, the world evolves. Things are changing. But the catalyst for much of the increased cyber risk has been the pandemic.
Those individuals involved in all forms of harm — from building break-ins to cyberattacks — have had a golden opportunity to fine-tune their skills during the pandemic. New types of phishing (emails that look like they come from reputable sources), malware, ransomware, and…
