THE SHOW MUST GO ON – BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING
In today’s business climate, organisations face the possibility of disruption from a multitude of sources. Companies could see their day to day operations suddenly derailed by a natural disaster, a public health emergency, a terrorist incident, civil unrest, a cyber attack, a power outage, or a critical supply chain supply failure, among countless other events. These situations could, in turn, cause significant financial and reputational damage.
According to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025, cyber, business interruption and natural disasters are the top three catastrophes that concern global businesses. Cyber incidents, such as ransomware attacks, data breaches and IT outages, are the top global risk for 2025, marking the fourth consecutive year at the top. Ten years ago, cyber risk ranked only eighth, with just 12 percent of respondents citing it, compared with 38 percent in 2025.
The top five cyber exposures that concern businesses the most are: data breaches (61 percent), cyber attacks on critical infrastructure and physical assets (57 percent), increase in malware and ransomware attacks (49 percent), disruption from failure of digital supply chains, cloud and service platforms (29 percent), and increase in business email spoofing attacks (18 percent).
Business interruption has been either number one or two on the list of every Allianz Risk Barometer report for the past decade. Its persistence at the top reflects the severe supply chain disruption seen during and after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The effects of COVID-19 drew attention to the fact that many organisations around the world either did not have a plan to address the disruption, or discovered their plan was inadequate.
Apr-Jun 2025 Issue
Richard Summerfield