Increasing digitalization has led to costly and damaging cyber incidents

The unprecedented growth of the Internet interconnections has led to a significant growth of cyberattack incidents often with disastrous and grievous consequences. Malware is the primary choice of weapon to carry out malicious intents in cyberspace, either by exploitation into existing vulnerabilities or utilization of unique characteristics of emerging technologies.

The development of more innovative and effective malware defense mechanisms has been regarded as an urgent requirement in the cybersecurity community. Cyberattacks continue to flourish, it is because cyberattacks are cheaper, convenient and less risky than physical attacks. Cyber criminals only require a few expenses beyond a computer and an Internet connection. They are unconstrained by geography and distance.

They are difficult to identify and prosecute due to the anonymous nature of the Internet. Having said that, attacks against information technology systems are very attractive, it is expected that the number and sophistication of cyberattacks will keep growing. Experts predict that global cybercrime will grow by 15% per year over the next five years, reaching $10.5 trillion annually by 2025.

This represents the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history, risks the incentives for innovation and investment, is exponentially larger than the damage inflicted from natural disasters in a year, and will be more profitable than the global trade of all major illegal drugs combined.

Digitalization has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The global use of services such as video conferencing has grown tenfold. As the use of digital tools increases, so does the amount of data created. The World Bank estimates that, by 2022, annual total internet traffic will increase by about 50% from 2020 levels, reaching 4.8 zettabytes. If you were to store 4.8 zettabytes on DVDs, your stack of DVDs would be long enough to circle the Earth six times. The pandemic has also shown us just how interconnected all businesses are and how increased digitalization has thrust the global population onto a new trajectory of cyber threats and attacks.

Going forward, we will see many leadership support for cybersecurity, and a survey says, 84% of respondents say cyber resilience is considered a business priority in their organization with support and direction from leadership, but a smaller number (68%) see cyber resilience as a major part of their overall risk management.

Hence it is time to Prioritize cyber in business decisions. Significant digitalization has provided a pathway for engagement and connectivity at a time when the world was supposed to stay apart. Its benefits are clear, but so are the threats. Increasing awareness by the cyber experts and ongoing shift from cybersecurity to cyber resilience is an important step towards a more trustworthy and sustainable future.