CSOs Anticipate High Security Threats In 2024

An anticipated rise in security threats including supply chain attacks, malicious damage to company property and violence against employees could have a serious impact on business continuity for large, global companies operating in Kenya. This is according to the World Security Report published by G4S.

The report denotes that supply chain attacks are likely to jump this year, anticipated by 33 percent of respondents, up from 26 percent who experienced these attacks last year. Cases of malicious damage to company property are anticipated by 35 percent of those surveyed, up from 28 percent who reported experiencing this type of incident last year.

As per the report, Chief Security Officers (CSOs) anticipate a sharp increase in the internal security threat of violence against employees. Almost half of the respondents expect this to affect their company, and it’s well above the expected regional and global averages.

Speaking on the report, Laurence Okelo, the Managing Director of G4S Kenya, said that Kenya has one of the strongest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and global companies benefit from operating in the East African country.

“CSOs will need to be laser-focused on their security over the coming year given the expected rise in threats across a number of fronts – and the detrimental impact on business continuity when breaches do occur. Good security is a strategic imperative as the threats we face become more complex and multi-faceted,” Okelo said.

The research found that previous security incidents have had a significant impact on business continuity with 35 percent more CSOs in Kenya than in any other country surveyed saying that their supply chain was disrupted as a result of the same.

More CSOs than in any other country said they faced business interruption costs and a loss of revenue following a security incident and at 37 percent, Kenya was the second highest country to report a fall in stock price value following a security incident.

Overall, Kenya-based CSOs expect to face some of the highest rates of security threats of all 30 countries surveyed by G4S. These CSOs cited fraud and misuse of company resources or data as the biggest external and internal concerns respectively.

Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world and as companies grow, they are faced with multiple challenges both inside and outside their businesses. Focusing on robust processes and early warning security systems will help with preparedness and the ability to tackle the challenges they face. Economic unrest creates security pressures in many forms and leaders will need to be vigilant and innovative in tackling these, through the use of well-designed security programs that combine good situational security intelligence, the right people and security technology,” said Mel Brooks, Regional CEO G4S Africa & Middle East.