Cyber Threats Still No. 1 Business Concern: 2022 Travelers Risk Index

Cyber threats were the top concern for business decision-makers for the third time in four years, according to the 2022 Travelers Risk Index.

Cyber threats were chosen as a top concern by 59% of respondents, followed by broad economic uncertainty (57%), fluctuations in oil and energy costs (56%), the ability to attract and retain talent (56%), and medical cost inflation (55%). Travelers said that big jumps were seen this year relating to concerns in oil and energy costs (a 16-point increase, up from 40%) and supply chain risks (54%, up from 43%).

The survey revealed that many companies seem to have a false sense of security when it comes to cyber preparedness. The vast majority (93%) of respondents were confident their company had implemented best practices to prevent or mitigate a cyber event; however, 64% admitted they don’t use endpoint detection and response, 59% haven’t conducted a cyber assessment for vendors, and 53% don’t have an incident response plan. And while 90% of survey respondents were familiar with multifactor authentication (MFA), only 52% said their company had implemented the practice for remote access.

“Cyber attacks can shut down a company for a long period of time or even put it out of business, and it’s imperative that companies have a plan in place to mitigate any associated operational and financial disruptions,” said Tim Francis, enterprise cyber lead at Travelers, in a statement. “Effective measures that have proven to reduce the risk of becoming a cyber victim are available, but based on these survey results, not enough companies are taking action.”

Other key cyber findings from the report:

• The top three cyber concerns were suffering a security breach (57% say they worry some or a great deal), a system glitch causing a company’s computers to go down (55%) and becoming a cyber extortion/ransomware victim (54%).

• More than a quarter (26%) of survey participants said their company had suffered a data breach or cyber event, with 49% reporting that the event occurred within the past 12 months. Of those who said their company had suffered a data breach or cyber event, 71% have been a victim more than once.

• More than half (57%) of respondents think a future cyber attack on their company is inevitable.

• Nearly 75% of respondents believe having a cyber insurance policy is critical, but only 59% said their company has purchased coverage—up only 3 points from 2021. Small businesses accounted for the largest increase of cyber policy purchasers, up from 30% to 38% this year.

About the Survey
Hart Research conducted a national online survey of 1,202 U.S. business decision-makers July 11-27, 2022, regarding their top challenges. Launched in November 2014, the Travelers Risk Index survey was commissioned by Travelers.

Topics Cyber