What are corporate treasurers doing about this? Deutsche Bank has teamed up with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to find out by surveying more than 300 senior corporate treasury executives. The findings form the basis of this report, Third-party risks: the cyber dimension, which explores the key issues they face and assesses potential enhancements to treasury security moving forward.

Along with an invitation to download this topical report from the EIU, Deutsche Bank brings you flow’s reflection on the main issues arising from in-depth research in the article, ‘Corporate Treasurers as Cyber-crimestoppers’, an infographic summarising the main threats and protection measures, and two video interviews. The first is with George Zinn, Corporate Vice President and Treasurer, Microsoft US, on his company’s experience of being targeted as one of the most targeted cyber-scalps. The second is with Baudouin Courau, VP Financing and Treasury at Faurecia, who talks about the risks presented by electronic data interfaces with suppliers, customers and banks, and how important it is to have accessible top management to check out anything unusual.

"This is the third year Deutsche Bank has partnered with the EIU on this unique research of treasury perspectives. In 2016, we reported how the majority of those we talked to maintained large amounts of excess cash in this low interest-rate environment, exacerbated by geopolitical risk and low levels of capital expenditure. Those stockpiles of cash have caught the eye of cyber criminals, and so it is no surprise that protecting them is right at the top of the corporate agenda," observes Michael Spiegel, former Deutsche Bank’s Head of Cash Management.

He notes that the bank is cooperating with its clients and other members of the financial industry, the technology sector, regulators and law enforcement agencies across the globe to support the collective effort to combat cybercrime.

Written by the EIU on behalf of Deutsche Bank