The recent cyber security breach at Wipro, in which a few of its employee accounts were affected in an "advanced phishing campaign", may have a short term impact on the reputation of the IT major. The company, however, has been quick enough to announce that it has taken all possible steps to control the situation and has also retained an independent forensic firm to assist the company in its investigation of the matter.
Experts such as Alok Shende of Ascentius Consulting, Mumbai said that a company with a stature of Wipro has a certain reputation that many clients look at with great respect. “Many of Wipro's customers feel that the IT major delivers value and is a firm that they can trust. Such kind of breaches may affect the reputation of the firm in the short term and may affect the contract renewals of a few of its existing clients. However, if the company does a thorough probe and investigation, the customers or clients will be reassured and the company will be able to resolve the issue sooner or later. The company should be able to reach the crux of the problem that had led to the breach and that is what is the need of the hour,” Shende told THE WEEK.
Brand expert, Harish Bijoor of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc feels that the hackers are a modern day reality. “This breach at Wipro will be viewed with the gravitas it deserves. Customers will wait for a clear end cogent communication from the company to assess their exposure, if any. Otherwise it will be business as unusual,” said Bijoor.
Kris Lakshmikanth, founder and CEO of executive search firm Head Hunters India Limited is of the opinion that Wipro will initially try to solve the problem and may even try to reach a settlement with the hackers. “Eventually everything will be resolved and things will be on track. This is not the first time a company is facing such a security breach in India. Many other IT firms have faced similar issues and have resolved them. Wipro will need to thoroughly probe as to what kind of systems have been breached, and what kind of data has been compromised by the hackers. It needs to be seen if this data is crucial and critical for the customers and what kind of customers have been targeted whether they are financial or telecom. Eventually, a few heads will roll in the company, especially, from the information security team or the cyber security team,” remarked Lakshmikanth.
Shares of IT major Wipro Tuesday fell 3.5 per cent after the company said a few of its employee accounts were affected in an "advanced phishing campaign".
The scrip gave up its early gains and declined 3.48 per cent to Rs 278.10 on BSE.
At NSE, shares dropped 3.37 per cent to Rs 278.
