Corporate boardrooms are putting in place strong cyber defences against possible attackseditor’s note
Best,Sourav MajuMdar
Editor, Forbes India[email protected]
@TheSouravMI
ndustrialist Adi Godrej
has a pretty simple but
solid explanation for
why cybersecurity is an
imperative for Corporate India. Just
like physical security of factories
and corporate offices is important,
companies must be equally focussed
on cybersecurity, the Godrej Group
chairman explains. Good cyber
defences serve to ward off possible
attacks since cyber attackers
know exactly who is vulnerable,
he says. Godrej’s views are bound
to find resonance across India
Inc as companies here, as well as
those across the world, become
increasingly aware of the risks of
cyber attacks. As Indian businesses
embrace the online world
aggressively, these risks are even
more palpable and real, as some
recent cases have underscored.
Whether it is a bank, etailer or
even a manufacturing company,
cyber attacks can cripple and
bring even the biggest companies
down to their knees if cybersecurity
is not taken as top priority.
Corporate bosses and
boardrooms are now well aware
of this massive risk following the
WannaCry ransomware attacks
and other similar events and are
putting in place strong defences.
But despite the awareness and
the progress being made on this
front, it is obvious that a lot more
needs to be done. This is borne out
by EY’s recent Global Information
Security Survey which showed
that as many as 75 percent of
Indian CXOs admit that they lack
confidence in their companies’
cybersecurity processes. IBM
India’s Managing Director Karan
Bajwa, on the other hand, tells
Associate Editor Aveek Datta,who put together the cover
story for this issue, that while
security has very high mindshare
among customers, the share of
wallet is still very poor. Datta’s
story takes a close look at the
threat and what the companies
are doing to mitigate it.
This issue also has the third
edition of Forbes India’s annual
listing of India’s Super 50
Companies, with PwC India as
Knowledge Partner. These are
firms which have managed to
grow profitably and outdo their
peers despite the challenging
environment and are picked
based on three-year shareholder
returns, three-year compounded
annual growth in sales and three-
year average returns on equity.
What emerges is a list of robust
companies which have constantly
outperformed on these parameters
by innovating while keeping their
eyes firmly on the bottomline.
Financial services, consumer
products, automobiles, pharma
and chemicals comprise the top
five sectors in this year’s list.
If the business of entertainment
interests you, I would draw
your attention to the Forbes
Celebrity 100 list of the world’s
highest earning celebrities.
While musician Diddy of the
US tops the list with a staggering
$130 million in earnings, followed
by fellow American musician
Beyoncé ($105 million) and
author JK Rowling of the UK ($
million), Bollywood’s financial
clout is amply in evidence on the
list as well. Indian superstars Shah
Rukh Khan ($38 million), Salman
Khan ($37 million) and Akshay
Kumar ($35.5 million) occupy
slots 65, 71 and 80 respectively.India Inc’s Cyber War
4 | forbes india August 4, 2017