From left: Marsh Fiji Chairman Marcus Pearson, senior consultant Tunde Fasheun and managaing director Frederic Boles at the Global risks report and cyber crime conference at the Grand Pacific Hotel on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 Photo: Joseva Veibataki
Small island states like Fiji are more vulnerable to cyber crime due to a lack of investment in security initiatives in the South Pacific, says an expert.
Tunde Fasheun, an expert from Nigeria, said cyber attacks, although not fully developed in the region, are an imminent threat.
Business heads and stakeholders yesterday in Suva engaged in discussions about global risks confronting enterprises and the unfamiliar threat of cyber crime.
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In a conference brokered by international risk management firm MARSH, experts estimated the costs incurred by businesses in the next five years because of cyber exposure could reach US$8 trillion ($16.13tn).
“It’s no longer a matter of if (cyber crime will affect us), but when,” the senior consultant said.
“The economic disparity between the island nations and the developed world where the uptake for technology is quite high and the islands are a bit slow is also a major factor.
“It is going to be a big challenge for the Governments of these nations to take on investment initiatives and also raise the level of awareness in society against cyber attacks.”
He said the attacks could be as simple as hackers spreading malware to small computer systems and exlusively offering to repair them for easy money.
Cyber crime has already made an appearance in Fiji.
Last December, three Bulgarian nationals were charged with a count each of possession of a skimming device with intent to dishonestly obtain personal financial information from a prominent bank in Fiji.
Marsh, according to its website, is a global leader in insurance broking and risk management, that helps clients better quantify and manage risks to survive and thrive.
It has done work in Fiji for over 50 years.
The firm’s Fiji chairman, Marcus Pearson, also presented the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report for 2018, which Marsh helped compile.
The 13th edition of the report provides key global risks facing businesses as well as views from over 800 experts on the threats to global prosperity.
While it does not specifically look at risk factors in Fiji, the report identified five threats currently facing New Zealand as:
- Natural catastrophe
- Extreme weather events
- Large Cyber Attacks
- Asset bubble
- Urban Planning Failure
Mr Pearson believed Fiji is facing similar risk factors, especially that of climate catastrophe.
“Another major threat to small island nations like Fiji is the inability for businesses to retain talent, facing steep competition from Australia and NZ,” he said.
Key Report Themes:
The extraordinary pace and variety of change in the world is placing huge pressure on the absoprtive capacity of institutions and systems
Current headline economic growth rates may mask significant vulnerabilites
The world is struggling to counter environemntal degradation and forestall catastrophic consequences
Increased tensions in both domestic and international politics threaten greater friction and conflict
Rapid technological advacnes are spawning systemic, and increasingly interrelated challenges
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