The figures speak for themselves. Among the many emergencies that have emerged in the past twelve months, there is also the issue of cybersecurity. “A rapidly expanding sector, given the new need to protect suppliers, third-party portals, logistics and end customers, now that the pandemic has led to so much digitalisation,” says Gabriele Faggioli, president of Clusit (the Italian Association for Cybersecurity) and head of the scientific division of the Cybersecurity and Data Protection Observatory at Politecnico di Milano, speaking in a webinar on the “Future of Security”, organised by the SICUREZZA, TUTTOFOOD and Host Milano trade fairs in collaboration with Fiera Milano Media – Business International.

According to the most important national and international studies, in fact, the large-scale retail and ho.re.ca sectors have become particularly attractive targets for cybercrime in recent months. And yet, says the last edition of the Observatory, in Italy just 13% of companies have got themselves organised to better cope with the threats that exist out there, or invested to any significant extent. “That phenomenon can only be explained in part,” said Giulio Iucci, president of ANIE Sicurezza, at the webinar. “The times we are going through already mean that areas such as professionalism, certification and quality are now seen by the market as guarantees of safety and security. It is a win-win situation for suppliers and their customers, and one that sets in motion a virtuous cycle of security-related technology.”

For now, though, there is still not a full awareness of the problem: just 41% of businesses in Italy have a CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) in charge of data protection and just 69% of firms have a DPO (Data Protection Officer). The problem is even more serious for those involved in the world of ho.re.ca, since the foodservice and hospitality industries have both been particularly involved in the introduction of such technologies as artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as in the launch of e-commerce portals and food delivery systems, all of which are heavily exposed breaches of data and sensitive information. “By 2023, 75% of businesses will have a complete roadmap for the implementation of the Digital Transformation,” said Maurizio Tursini, chief products & technologies officer at Gruppo Cimbali, who also took part in the virtual meeting. “For us, IoT has now become a ‘need to play’ to ensure product sales. But this requires new business models, new organisational models and a new skills set inside the company.” Just like those suggested during the webinar, which should take the form of more investments in Operation Technology Security and a greater attention by businesses to Supply Chain Security.