Cybersecurity guide outlines growing threat

The European Rental Association is reinforcing the importance of cybersecurity as a business risk with the release of an updated edition of the ‘ERA guide to cybersecurity leading practice in the equipment rental industry.’

Michel Petitjean, ERA Secretary General, said in a release that vulnerability to cybersecurity impacts was “One of the greatest threats impacting the equipment rental industry.”

Cybersecurity breaches are a growing threat for the rental industry, according to the ERA. Photo: Reuters / Igor Stevanovic / Alamy.

“Since we first released our cybersecurity guide in 2021, this threat has only increased due to global events and the intensification of digitalisation across the industry globally.”

The guide includes the latest cybersecurity insights for the rental sector and a ‘Roadmap’ for good security. The growing importance of understanding cybersecurity as a business risk is emphasised.

It quotes a 2022 survey by tech research specialist Gartner shows 88% of Board of Directors regard cybersecurity as a business risk rather than solely a technical IT problem.

Gartner predict that by 2025, 60% of organisations will use cybersecurity risk as a significant determinant in conducting third- party transactions and business engagements.

Meanwhile, according to IBM, in 2021 it took an average of 212 days to identify a data breach and an average 75 days to contain it, with breaches caused by stolen/compromised credentials taking the longest to identify (250 days) and contain (91 days).

The ERA said the purpose of the guide “is to define the enterprise-wide scope of cybersecurity intervention, identify the core elements of a successful strategy, including the special factors that may impact rental companies, and to outline leading practices being adopted today by leaders in our industry.”

“With this updated guide, we continue to identify and communicate leading practice in cybersecurity that can support our industry, where an equipment rental company can evaluate where it stands in relation to cybersecurity and identify leading practice it can aspire to,” said Petijean.

The ‘ERA guide to cybersecurity ‎leading practice in the equipment rental industry’ was produced by an expert consultant, DKR Projects Ltd, in collaboration with the ERA Cybersecurity Working Group, which is comprised of acknowledged leader companies in the equipment rental sector.

The guide is available to read and download at: https://cybersecurity.erarental.org/