Cyber security recognised on World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report

Tech risks, including cybercrime and digital inequality, have featured among the top long-term global risks identified in the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Risks Report, released on 11 January. The Report identifies current, short-term and longer-term risks that are expected to have a severe impact on the global economy over the next 10 years.

Of the longer term risks expected to manifest over the next ten years, the risk of widespread cybercrime and cyber insecurity came in at number eight on the list. Significantly, this marks the first occasion on which these technology-related risks have formed part of the top 10 risk factors, an indication of the growing severity of risks in this field as new technologies continue to emerge and present new challenges. In particular, adverse outcomes of frontier technologies, lack of access to digital services and widespread cybercrime and cyber insecurity were identified as among the most rapidly accelerating risks on the technological front.

It is no surprise that new technologies bring unique risks and create greater exposure for governments, businesses and individuals, given the fast evolving nature of the digital landscape and its potential for wide-reaching impacts on security, privacy and autonomy. The inclusion of these risks in the Global Risks Report acts as a timely reminder of the need for digital resilience in the ever-changing technological landscape.

See here for the full report.