Today, success in exporting is driven by more than just product quality, price or delivery times. It increasingly depends on a company’s ability to protect its data, systems and supply chain.
In other words, cybersecurity is no longer merely a technical issue. For many markets, it is becoming a prerequisite for gaining access.
The tightening of regulations in Europe, the United States and elsewhere can be explained by a simple fact: the global economy relies on complex, interconnected supply chains. A weakness in one supplier can undermine the entire ecosystem.
Large organizations have invested heavily in strengthening their security. Cybercriminals are well aware of this. Rather than targeting the best-protected companies directly, they often look for an easier point of entry through a supplier, business partner or subcontractor.
That explains the rise in stricter requirements, particularly in Europe. The introduction of the NIS2 Directive and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), for instance, contributes to increased expectations regarding cyber-resilience and supply chain security.
The approach in the United States is different. There, we see more compliance frameworks and standards, such as those from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the guidelines from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). These may not necessarily be laws in the strict sense, but in practice, such frameworks strongly influence market expectations.
For a Canadian company looking to export or integrate into an international supply chain, cybersecurity can quickly become a barrier to entry.
In practical terms, this implies that, when responding to a call for tenders or joining a supply chain, you may be asked for very specific details, such as what controls are in place, how you manage incidents, whether penetration tests are conducted and how you monitor your vulnerabilities.
In some cases, recognized certifications or attestations may also become a deciding factor. ISO 27001 is often used as a structuring framework. For service companies, compliance with the SOC 2 standard is increasingly required. However, certification alone is not enough. Clients also want a consistent approach and concrete evidence of cybermaturity.
Assess your cyber risks and protect your international business operations with expert guidance.
All this pressure may seem overwhelming. Yet cybersecurity should not be viewed solely as an expense or a matter of compliance. It can also become a real business driver.
Strong governance can help you:
It is therefore a way to better protect yourself, of course, but also to gain credibility at a time when selection criteria are becoming stricter.
The most common mistake is to purchase tools before having defined a strategy. A technological solution is no substitute for a clear vision.
The first step is to assess your level of cybermaturity. You need to identify what you need to protect, what your actual risks are and which scenarios would have the greatest impact on your operations.
A company developing a digital service will not have the same priorities as a manufacturer whose components are found in critical infrastructure. In the first case, the risk may involve data confidentiality. In the second, product integrity is also at stake.
With this in mind, you can structure an approach tailored to your company’s reality. The fundamentals often remain the same:
After that, the specifics vary from one company to another. Several measures can make a difference:
This last step is perhaps the most important. Phishing techniques have evolved significantly. Email scams are more credible, more targeted and often harder to spot than before. Generic or outdated training doesn’t provide sufficient protection.
Cybersecurity isn’t a task you can cross off your list once the right tools are in place. It’s an ongoing process.
With artificial intelligence (AI), attacks are becoming faster, more frequent and more sophisticated. Companies must therefore reinforce their controls, as well as their ability to adapt. What is effective today may not be adequate tomorrow.
In this context, standardized support is not a viable option. You need assistance that is tailored to your organization’s situation and could include:
The right question, therefore, is not whether you should invest in cybersecurity. It’s knowing when you want to turn it into a competitive advantage.
This article was written in collaboration with François Caron, Senior Manager in Cybersecurity with VARS, an RCGT subsidiary.
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