Tag: DigitalResilience

A cyberattack does not end when malicious activity has been contained. For the affected business, that is usually when the most expensive phase begins. When an attacker breaches a system, the problem quickly extends beyond IT. Systems may go offline while staff try to keep the business running. Customers demand answers, and the business may need to meet regulatory obligations. All these activities cost money, often when revenue is already under pressure.

South African businesses are not in the habit of replacing their hardware every year, nor should they be. While IT has evolved into a much more critical component of the modern enterprise, most businesses still have to reconcile their infrastructure needs with the capital they can allocate to it.

In June, Meta experienced a global outage that disrupted Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp services for users worldwide. The outage left many businesses temporarily unable to connect with customers through some of their most important digital channels. While the disruption was temporary, it highlighted the risks associated with relying too heavily on a single digital platform.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) discussions in South African boards generally default to carbon, community impact and governance process. While those remain essential, they do not tell the full story of organisational sustainability. A business may define sustainability narrowly. However, it still fails if it cannot protect data and recover quickly from cyber disruption in a digital economy.

As more businesses move their operations to the cloud, securing these environments has become a strategic imperative. Fortinet’s 2025 report shows that 35% of IT security budgets are now dedicated to cloud protection. Meanwhile, Gartner notes that the cloud security market expanded by 24% last year alone.

Higher education institutions face cybersecurity challenges that differ from those in many other sectors. These challenges shape how universities approach tackling cyber threats in complex environments. The major risks facing South African universities include ransomware, phishing, data breaches and insider threats. Institutions also depend heavily on third parties and face a significant cybersecurity skills gap.