A New Critical Risk on the Block: Cyber Risks as an Example of Technical Knowledge Risks in Organizations

Abstract

The breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the appearance of many additional technical knowledge risks in organizations. Cyber risks in particular are becoming a great challenge for organizations. At the same time, academic research on cyber risks, their costs, consequences and ability of overcoming them is still scarce and fragmented. In order to fill this gap, the paper is aimed to identify different types of cyber risks that organizations face and to examine the organizations’ ability to handle those risks. The paper presents research results from a sample of 60 organizations, addressing questions such as: (i) What are the costs of cyber risks the organization has faced? (ii) What is the company ability to address these risks?, and (iii) What is the  organization doing to  minimize the impact of such risks? Data was collected by means of a questionnaire. This research study has allowed to identify the state of the art concerning cyber risks, which can bear severe consequences for organizations. The findings clearly show that not all organizations suffer from the same level of cyber risks but it is much related to their field of operations. Consequently, also the ability to manage these cyber risks is quite diversified among the examined companies. Research results are limited to a sample of 60 organizations and thus the findings should be taken with caution. The study provides useful insights for managers and owners of organizations in need of dealing with the cyber threats/attacks and other technical knowledge risks threatening their organizations. The paper is enriched with a number of sample solutions that they may apply to mitigate those risks.The paper lays the ground for a better understanding of technical knowledge risks, primarily cyber risks, to which organizations are increasingly exposed today. As such, the paper offers food for thought for researchers dealing with the topic of technical knowledge risks and organizational risk management in general.