The accelerating pace of digitization fueled by the covid-19 pandemic has led to a record number of ransomware attacks, with the volume of global attacks increasing by 151 percent in the first half of 2021, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned in a new annual report.
The WEF report "Global Cyber Security Outlook 2022" showed that an average of 2021 cyber attacks per organization were recorded in 270, which is an increase of 31 percent compared to 2020, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reports.
The cost of the attacks to the organization is high, averaging US$3,6 million per incident, according to the report.
"The outlook is pretty bleak," said WEF cybersecurity expert and lead strategist Algirde Pipikaite.
"We are witnessing many walks of life being affected by criminal cyber activities... There is a lot that needs to be done and we should, as a community, come together," Pipikaite told Xinhua via video link.
According to her, two types of attacks are particularly worrying. "One is 'ransomware'. It will continue to grow until we really get the basics of cyber security in order. The other is attacks on critical infrastructure systems and how that could disrupt our ability to receive basic public services," she said.
A report by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum also found that 80 percent of leading cyber experts now see ransomware as a growing and dangerous threat to public security, and that there is a wide perception gap between CEOs who think their companies are safe. and security experts who disagree.
"At the World Economic Forum, a strong position was heard that neither governments nor the private sector will be able to solve the ongoing global challenges of cyber security alone. This requires a very strong cooperation between the public and private sectors in order to improve the response to cyber crime activities," Pipikaite added.
The report emphasized that cyber security is no longer a sufficient tactic, but that building resilience should be integrated into the strategy of organizations.
"Organizations need to work more closely with ecosystem partners and 'third parties' to make cybersecurity part of the organization's ecosystem DNA so they can be resilient and drive customer trust," said Julie Sweet, president and CEO of the company's IT and consulting services Accenture, in a statement published on the WEF website.
In terms of solutions, Pipikaite singled out cyber-training for employees, offline backups, cyber insurance and platform-based cyber security solutions that stop known 'ransomware' attacks from all directions as key.
She also emphasized that by using artificial intelligence and automation systems, defenders can reduce attack time and respond to incidents faster:
"But don't be fooled. Cybercriminals are also applying these new technologies and attacking in a much more organized, better, faster and more efficient way, increasing the frequency and effectiveness of their attacks. They are becoming much more sophisticated," Pipikaite told the Xinhua news agency.
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