Cyber-Security Risks: Impact on Global Business

Risk Group Founder, Jayshree Pandya PhD discusses “Cyber-Security Risks: Impact on Global Business” with Michael Goedker, Founder and CEO of HAKDEFNET based in Germany     Introduction Cyberspace has brought an increasingly tempting opportunity for criminals, activists, spies and terrorists that are interested in either making money, get noticed, cause disruption or even bring down any individual or an entity across nations: its government, industries, organizations, and academia (NGIOA) through cyber-attacks. Cyber-crime is no longer a dark and secret phenomenon limited to just few opportunists scattered across nations. Cyber-criminals are serious professionals that are on the rise as “cyber-crime” seems to be becoming a rapid and profitable growth industry. From financial crime and corporate espionage to state-sponsored terrorism, cyberspace has now become a safe haven for all kinds of criminal activity that are very profitable. Moreover, with the lack of integrated global security framework across cyberspace, geospace, space (CGS), and in the absence of global rules and standards, nations are allowing a free reign to this un-welcome industry. In addition, it has also been reported that the investment required for cyber-crime is insignificant, whereas the returns are heard to be great. As a result, the threat posed by cyber-crime is growing rapidly and exponentially. When the risks seem to be very low for cyber-crimes and cyber criminals, the un-checked growth is costing the global economy billions of dollars. While there is an attempt to discuss the cost of cyber-crime and cyber-espionage, it is equally important to evaluate the damage to its victims: that is individuals, businesses, industries, nations and global economy. For each and every entity across NGIOA, there is no escaping the blatant realities of today’s inter-connected and inter-dependent digital global age—and the complex risks it brings to each entity across NGIOA in CGS. NGIOA Preparedness Cyber-Activism, Cyber-Crimes, Cyber-Terrorism and Cyber Arms Race: Are We Prepared? When highly sophisticated human and non-human intelligence have an ability to take over and even destroy the most sophisticated control systems that regulate everything across industries, the question rises to whether we or our nations are prepared for the on-going cyber-activism, cyber-crimes, cyber terrorism and cyber arms race that is rapidly growing around each and every NGIOA. Are nations: its governments, industries, organizations and academia prepared for this? It seems that the size and the diversity of an entity across NGIOA or a nation’s economy has much to do with the ability of any entity across any nation: its government, industries, organizations and academia to withstand cyber-attacks without showing significant economic/financial effects. In a more diversified and developed entity or an economy, such losses may have a temporary influence as resources are reallocated to other sectors or better security measures are deployed to ease concerns. In short, the size of a business/entity/economy has much to do with its ability to withstand cyber-attacks without showing any negative impact on its survival or sustainability. Corporatization of Cyber-Crime The “Digital Global Age” has brought “Crime” as a service-based criminal industry. It is important for each nation to evaluate how to deal with this? As the Cyber-crime is now “corporatized” in a digital global age, it has also adopted a strong profit-motivation, greater organization, a sense of professionalism and profit centric business model. Nations are currently witnessing a ‘crime as a service’-based criminal industry that is developing and growing rapidly, with an increasing number of “criminals” operating in the virtual ...