Nations’ reliance on the internet and connected services means the potential damage from cyber-attacks is one of the biggest risks facing the world today, according to a report from the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The threat of cyber-attacks and cyberwarfare sits behind only extreme weather events and natural disasters in terms of events likely to cause disruption in the next five years, according to the WEF’s Global Risks Report 2018. The WEF is an international body which brings together business, political, academic, and other leaders to help shape the global agenda.
The report highlights ransomware in particular as a cyber-threat, and says that 64 percent of all malicious phishing emails sent during 2017 contained file-encrypting malware.
The Global Risks Report 2018 cites two major events as examples of the damage and disruption which can be caused: the WannaCry attack, which affected 300,000 computers in 150 countries and impacted infrastructure across the globe including the UK’s NHS, and Petya — which caused losses of over $300m to a number of organisations.
See also: Ransomware: An executive guide to…
