Credit rating agency Moody’s said in a report issued today that it considers banks, securities firms, financial market infrastructure, and hospitals at “high risk,” from a ratings perspective, due to their exposure to the impacts of cyberattacks. “As the potential for significant cyberattacks rises globally, the growing intersection of supply chains, connectivity and access to data is creating new vulnerabilities for governments and businesses,” the agency said, adding that the four industry groups all “rely heavily on technology for operations, distribution of content or customer engagement.” “We view cyber risk as event risk that can have material impact on sectors and individual issuers,” said Moody’s Managing Director Derek Vadala. “Data disclosure and business disruption are the two primary types of cyber event risk that we view as having the potential for material impact on issuers’ financial profiles and business prospects,” he said. The four sectors identified by Moody’s in the report have $11.7 trillion of rated debt outstanding.
