A cyber security expert from professional services firm KPMG yesterday warned Island businesses had to prepare for the worst.

Chris Eaton, senior manager and Bermuda group cyber security leader at the firm, said global surveys had shown that the financial services and retail sectors were prime targets for hackers.

Mr Eaton added: “One might draw conclusions from that Bermuda might pay attention to.”

He was speaking a week before a special Techtalk panel discussion next Thursday aimed at helping companies prepare themselves for a cyber breach — and how to recover as fast as possible.

Mr Eaton said: “We don’t want to be perceived as a soft target. A good defensive strategy is not looking like the lowest hanging fruit.”

But he added: “I don’t believe there is an under-appreciation of cyber security in Bermuda — that’s not our experience.

“It has moved up the risk matrix and the risk landscape with organisations in Bermuda. They see they need some assurance and security around this issue and that’s a good thing.

“Bermuda is showing impressive, positive strides in the right direction.”

Mr Eaton said Island attacks, like the hacking of card machines at supermarket chain Arnold’s which was revealed in January, had heightened awareness of the threat.

He added: “The Chamber of Commerce did a good job of organising a briefing session, very much driven by its retail division asking for information and guidance.”

Mr Eaton said there had been a “significant shift” in the last two years in how business viewed cyber security.

He explained that the focus on perimeter security and keeping raiders out of networks retained its importance.

But he said: “It’s a question of not if, but when you are attacked and the incident response you should have in place to ensure your response is the right one.”

Cyber security firm Kaspersky, in a survey of cybercrime in 2014 released earlier this year, reported that 94 per cent of companies across 27 countries had suffered some kind of data breach over the year.

And Mr Eaton said that some estimates put the worldwide cost of cyber crime at more than $400 billion.

He added: “It’s a pretty pervasive problem. There are lots of people getting in and it’s costing the global economy a lot, so being able to respond effectively is a big deal.”

Mr Eaton explained the Techtalk seminar would look at preparation for an attack, detection of intrusions into networks, analysis of breaches when they are found.

He added: “When you’ve found that out, it’s contain and investigate, then recovery and eradication, then report and pursue with lessons learned on how to get better and improve.”

And Mr Eaton said: “There’s a whole raft of best practices out there and we want to build awareness in the market about what that looks like.

“A critical part of best practices is data classification so people can apply special controls to really important information which is critical to the organisation.”

Mr Eaton will be one of the panellists at next Thursday’s Techtalk event, along with Duncan Card, managing principal of law firm Bennett Jones (Bermuda) Ltd; Brett Henshilwood, partner, Deloitte; and Ian Evelyn, a risk officer with the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Everyone is welcome and the event starts at 6pm at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.