An Apocalyptic Cyber Event

Uploaded on 2023-03-02 in FREE TO VIEW

The world faces a set of entirely new risks according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Security Outlook Report 2023, which has predicted a “catastrophic cyber event" is on the way and will take place in the "near future".

Speaking at the report's presentation, the WEF Managing Director Jeremy Jurgens, said that "geopolitical instability makes a catastrophic cyber event likely in the next two years". Jurgens said that the prediction comes from 93 per cent of cyber leaders, and 86 per cent of cyber business leaders. "This far exceeds anything that we’ve seen in previous surveys.”

Jürgen Stock, Secretary-General of Interpol, said “This is a global threat... It calls for a global response and enhanced and coordinated action.” He also commented that the increased profits that the multiple bad “actors” reap from cyber crime should encourage world leaders to work together to make it a priority as they face “new sophisticated tools.”

Jurgens referred to a recent cyber attack that aimed to shut down Ukrainian military capabilities, but unexpectedly led to closing off of parts of electricity production in other parts of Europe.

Also present was Jürgen Stock, the Secretary-General of Interpol, who called it "a global threat". “It calls for a global response and enhanced and coordinated action.” He urged multiple bad “actors” who benefit from cybercrime to encourage world leaders to work together to thwart all such efforts.

Albania, one of the countries that fell victim to a large-scale cyber attack last year, has now been working with larger allies to fight cyber criminals. Also present was Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania’ who commented that, if cyber crime were a nation-state, it would be the third largest global economy after the US and China. Rama said that the cybercrime industry stood at $3 trillion in 2015 and is expected to grow to $10.5 trillion in 2025.

Rama compared the attack predicted by WEF to a virus like Covid-19 and how it can turn to an "apocalypse".

“Let’s imagine an exponential multitude of viruses that mutate everyday exponentially while not threatening our body, but the bodies we live in, our organisations, our countries, our system, then, you know, it could be just apocalypse... It’s about viruses that can not only block our way of living, but can control it and deviate it.” Rama added.

The report is based on a survey of 1,200 - plus risk experts, including the WEF’s Global Risks Report Advisory Board and its Chief Risk Officers Community, as well as thematic experts from academia, business, the international community, civil society and the government.

The WEF challenges leaders to “think more deeply about cybersecurity and listen more intently to cyber experts, and to each other, in order to ensure our shared resilience.” Additionally, the WEF urges cyber security leaders to refrain from using language that is too technical and jargony. Instead, it recommends using language their business counterparts will fully understand and can act upon.

WEF: Tenable: WIONews: Popular Mechanics: HelpNetSecruity: Cybersecurity Dive:

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