Cyber risks scenario for business: counting the cost of growing societal threats

It is the interconnected and systemic nature of global risks that creates surprises when their impacts are felt not only locally but also globally. It is therefore important for businesses to understand the triggers, trends and scenarios to look out for, and to prepare for the possible consequences of any of those risks.

On the technological side, and according to the Global Risks Report 2017,  massive incidents of data fraud and theft as well as cyber attacks are the top technological risks in terms of likelihood, the top 5 and 6 global risks overall on the likelihood side. This is amplified by rising cyber dependency which ranks as one of the top key trends affecting global developments over the next ten years.

This backdrop, combined with innovative forecasting data and insights delivered by the Atlantic Council, the Pardee Centre at the University of Denver and Zurich, gives you access to a state-of-the-art scenario outlining some of the key insights which a business could expect on cyber risks, for example:

• Prevalence of cyber attacks: what are current and historic trends across countries and regions? Where are the hot spots? Who are the main targets? (i.e., private firms, public entities, industries, government institutions, research facilities, etc.) Who are the originators of cyber attacks?
• Types and focus of attacks: what do attackers aim for? (i.e., theft of intellectual property, confidential data and information, attempt to destroy critical infrastructures)
• Occurrence: how and through which channels do cyber attacks typically take place?
• Cost implications: what are the (estimated) costs of cyber attacks and other adverse implications for affected entities?
• Resilience: are there countermeasures in place in affected countries? What could be done to enhance cyber and overall technology security? How prepared are individual countries, governments, firms and other stakeholders against cyber attacks? What are they already doing or plan to do to mitigate emerging technology risks and cyber risks?
• Susceptibility factors:  which are the critical factors that expose governments, firms and other stakeholders to technology and cyber risks?