The Current State of Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a fast changing field at the moment. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are using digital tools at home and at work, which has increased the frequency, cost, and damage of cyber incidents¹. Critical conclusions from 120 international cyber leaders on how to transition from cybersecurity to cyber resilience are presented in the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2022 published by the World Economic Forum¹.

The usage of services like video conferencing has multiplied globally, and as more people use digital tools, more data is produced. The World Bank predicts that by 2022, there will be 4.8 zettabytes of yearly internet traffic, up roughly 50% from 2020 levels¹.

The pandemic has also demonstrated the degree to which all organizations are interconnected, as well as the way that rising digitization has put the entire world's population on a new course for cyberthreats and assaults. We witnessed significant infrastructure breaches in 2021, as well as how one company's cybersecurity practices may affect a large number of companies¹.

The World Economic Forum's Centre for Cybersecurity has released the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2022, which lays forth foresight and important insights gathered from more than 120 global cyber leaders, in light of these ongoing cyber problems¹.

The subject of cybersecurity is complex. The complexity of digitalization, which forces governments to engage in a variety of wars ranging from cyberattacks on vital infrastructure to "fake news" meant to influence elections, is among the top cybersecurity threats 4 . The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred technical advancement while also exposing cyber vulnerabilities and a lack of readiness and worsening technological disparities within and between nation 4.

Technologies, processes, networks, services, systems, and facilities crucial to public safety, health, and economic activity may be the target of cyberattacks against critical infrastructure. Critical infrastructure is also needed by governments to provide efficient service 9. The infrastructure itself is vulnerable as attackers intensify their efforts to launch cyberattacks against crucial facilities. Moreover, because most systems are legacy and incapable of providing adequate protection against contemporary threats, the attacks target vital industries including food, gas, finance, and transportation 9.

On vital infrastructure, there have been several high-profile cyberattacks in recent years. For instance, the Irish public health care attack and the American Colonial Pipeline attack 10. Critical infrastructure has recently been the target of many high-profile cyberattacks. For instance, the American Colonial Pipeline attack and the Irish public health care attack 10.

Cybersecurity is a fast-changing field due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased the frequency, cost, and damage of cyber incidents. The World Economic Forum's Centre for Cybersecurity has released the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2022, which lays forth foresight and important insights gathered from more than 120 global cyber leaders. The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred technical advancement while also exposing cyber vulnerabilities and a lack of readiness. Critical infrastructure is vulnerable as attackers intensify their efforts to launch cyberattacks against crucial facilities. Recent high-profile cyberattacks have included the American Colonial Pipeline attack and the Irish public health care attack.

(1) Everything you need to know about cybersecurity in 2022. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/cyber-security-2022-global-outlook/.

(2) State of Cybersecurity 2022 | ISACA. https://www.isaca.org/go/state-of-cybersecurity-2022.

(3) 2022 State of Cybersecurity - US | CompTIA. https://www.comptia.org/content/research/cybersecurity-trends-research.

(4) These are the top cybersecurity challenges of 2021. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/top-cybersecurity-challenges-of-2021/.

(5) Everything you need to know about cybersecurity in 2022. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/cyber-security-2022-global-outlook/.

(6) Cybersecurity should be treated an ESG issue. Here's why. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/03/three-reasons-why-cybersecurity-is-a-critical-component-of-esg/.

(7) Cybersecurity: These are the new things to worry about in 2023. https://www.zdnet.com/article/cybersecurity-these-are-the-new-things-to-worry-about-in-2023/.

(8) Cybersecurity Is Not (Just) a Tech Problem - Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/01/cybersecurity-is-not-just-a-tech-problem.

(9) Protecting critical infrastructure from a cyber pandemic. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/protecting-critical-infrastructure-from-cyber-pandemic/.

(10) Top 7 Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructure - FirstPoint. https://www.firstpoint-mg.com/blog/top-7-cyberattacks-on-critical-infrastructure/.

(11) Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure - AGCS Global. https://www.agcs.allianz.com/news-and-insights/expert-risk-articles/cyber-attacks-on-critical-infrastructure.html.