Survey reveals public sector cyber security threat

A new survey has highlighted the extent of criminal threats to public sector cyber security, while developed vetting cleared procurement staff also need to be wary of supplier fraud.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) surveyed 184 public sector workers in 36 countries and found that 14 per cent of had experienced cyber-crime in the past 12 months.

Moreover, 18 per cent expected to experience a criminal cyber attack in the next 12 months and 40 per cent believed this threat to be on the rise.

The study also revealed that the incidence of supplier fraud had increased from 13 per cent three years ago to 32 per cent, yet that only a quarter of organisations terminated dealings with the supplier in question when they discovered they were being defrauded.

Ian Elliott, a partner in forensic services at PwC, warned: "As the public service market becomes more open in many countries... procurement departments will face a raft of new challenges to ensure the quality and cost-efficiency of services are not compromised."

Back in November, the UK government published its strategy for combating cyber attacks, including new levels of cooperation with the private sector and the establishment of both a cyber crime unit in the National Crime Agency and of a Defence Cyber Operations Group.