Govind TekaleAccording to the 2023 World Economic Forum Global Security Outlook Report, business leaders predict a “catastrophic cyber event” is imminent. The unpredictable nature of cybercrime has caused it to become a booming industry, projected to grow from $3 trillion in 2015 to $10.5 trillion by 2025, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. The report shows that 93% of cyber leaders and 86% of cyber business leaders believe that geopolitical instability will lead to a catastrophic cyber event within the next two years, a much higher percentage than in previous surveys.
The unpredictable nature of cyberattacks presents a growing global challenge, as evidenced by a recent incident where a cyberattack aimed at disabling Ukrainian military capabilities ended up also disrupting parts of Europe’s electricity production. According to Jürgen Stock, Secretary-General of Interpol, this is a global threat that requires a coordinated response from world leaders. He added that the increasing profits generated by malicious actors in the cybercrime industry should motivate leaders to work together to address this issue and confront the new, sophisticated tools being used.
Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania, highlighted during the presentation the rapid growth of the cybercrime industry, projected to grow from $3 trillion in 2015 to a staggering $10.5 trillion by 2025. If cybercrime was a country, it would be the third largest economy in the world after the United States and China. This demonstrates the catastrophic potential of the threats posed by cybercrime. Rama compared the global response to COVID-19 with a hypothetical cyberattack, emphasizing that a cyberattack could be even more devastating. He described a scenario where viruses mutate daily, affecting not just our daily lives, but also our organizations, countries, and systems, resulting in an “apocalypse”. The viruses, in this case, could not only disrupt our way of life but also control and divert it.
