Nairobi — Multinational companies in Kenya expect a surge in security threats next year, a new report shows.
The latest World Security Report indicates that this will include supply chain attacks, malicious damage to company property, and violence against employees.
Supply chain attacks are likely to jump this year, as 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.
The survey, which was done by G4S, involved 1,775 Chief Security Officers (CSOs) in 30 countries at large, global companies with total revenue of more than $20 million trillion.
CSOs anticipate a sharp increase in the internal security threat of violence against employees; 48 percent of respondents expect this to affect their company, up from 39 percent a year ago.
This is well above the expected regional and global averages.
"Kenya has one of the strongest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and global companies benefit greatly from operating here," Laurence Okelo, Managing Director of G4S Kenya, said.
"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."
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"Good security is a strategic imperative as the threats we face become more complex and multi-faceted."
More CSOs than in any other country said they faced business interruption costs and a loss of revenue following a security incident, at 37 percent.
Overall, Kenya-based CSOs expect to face some of the highest rates of security threats of all 30 countries surveyed in the next 12 months; fraud and misuse of company resources or data are the biggest external and internal concerns, respectively.
Climate change is considered to be one of the country's top security-impacting hazards for the next 12 months, cited by 56 percent of CSOs versus a regional average of 44 percent.
Similarly, disruption to energy supplies is identified as an expected security-impacting hazard by 44 percent of CSOs in Kenya, whereas the global average is 33 percent.
"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," said Mel Brooks, regional CEO of G4S Africa & Middle East.
"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," Brooks said.
