Up to 50,000 companies running SAP software are at greater risk of being hacked after security researchers found new ways to exploit vulnerabilities of systems that haven’t been properly protected and published the tools to do so online.
German software giant SAP said it issued guidance on how to correctly configure the security settings in 2009 and 2013. But data compiled by security firm Onapsis shows that 90 per cent of affected SAP systems have not been properly protected.
SAP software is used by more than 90 per cent of the world’s top 2,000 companies to manage everything from employee payrolls to product distribution and industrial processes. Security experts say attacks on those systems could be hugely damaging, both for the victim organisations and their wider supply chain. SAP customers collectively distribute 78 per cent of the world’s food and 82 per cent of global medical devices, the company says on its website.