We are increasingly digital dependent, and this will intensify cyber threats

As always, the Global Risks Report 2022 recently released by the World Economic Forum devotes a chapter to digital security and its potential economic impact, at the level of individual organisations and systems. Among the risks highlighted in this edition of the report is the prospect of an intensification of cyber threats, which is already taking place, based on the digitally-driven evolution of society that the pandemic in recent years has decisively accelerated.

A growing dependence on digital systems

The increasing dependence on digital systems has profoundly altered companies. Over the past 18 months, industries have undergone rapid digitisation, workers have shifted to remote work wherever possible, and platforms and devices facilitating this change have proliferated. At the same time, cybersecurity threats are growing – in 2020, malware and ransomware attacks increased by 358% and 435% respectively – and are outstripping the ability of companies to prevent or respond to them effectively. As the report notes, there are many factors that further aggravate the risk, such as lower barriers to entry for cyber threat actors, more aggressive attack methods, a shortage of cybersecurity professionals and fragmented governance mechanisms.

With the forced digitisation of society, the pandemic has had profound effects on digital security, which will certainly not disappear as we return to relative social and economic normality.

Exponential increase in attack area

The last twenty-four months alone have seen exponential growth in networks and connected devices, as well as in interactions between people – and between machines, given the increasing adoption of IoT technologies in many areas of the economy. The volume of data that is exchanged every day has exploded, in unprecedented quantities but also through increasingly varied devices. This has a major security consequence, with the potential attack surface at the disposal of cyber criminals increasing just as markedly.

Today, every device is a potential starting point for an attack, but every single user, as an element of this increasingly rich and crowded digital ecosystem, is also a potential threat vector. Especially since the user increasingly operates remotely and is outside the physical company perimeter, and therefore less strictly subject to corporate cybersecurity practices. This typically leads to an increasing hybridisation of work tools, with a mixed use of personal and corporate devices, and a consequent increase in potential risks, which leads organisations to face issues such as the provisioning security (with respect to BYOD – Bring Your Own Device) and the multiplication of the logical accesses resulting from the proliferation of remote work applications.

Increasingly digital processes raise the level of risk

In parallel, the increasing digitisation of processes has opened further potential doors for cyber criminals. Think of industrial production, but also of large infrastructures, once based on purely mechanical processes, which have now become automated and digitised.

The undoubted advantage in terms of automation and productivity brings with it an entirely new dimension of risk, mixing digital and more traditionally physical aspects. Large production facilities and critical infrastructures are even more targeted by cyber criminals whose actions in the digital world can cause even devastating physical consequences for entire communities. In this sense, effective prevention will inevitably entail higher costs, but above all it will be much more difficult to tackle due to the complexity of the network of systems, processes and infrastructures involved.

Security impacts heavily on every aspect of society in its digital evolution. Not even the multiverse, that great virtual and interconnected world towards which we are gradually moving, is immune from it. As the investments in this new dimension of interactions are multimillion-dollar, the first real applications are already among us and they are beginning to shape our habits. Videoconferencing and sharing and collaboration tools are only the first step in this process, which is closely accompanying the evolution of society. The fact that this is not a purely consumer aspect can be seen by considering the increasing popularity of software simulation solutions, which have effectively replaced more traditional design methodologies. Digital twins, in particular, represent virtual copies of physical devices and processes, effectively constituting their digital projection.

This is a profound evolution that affects every aspect of society, and impacts human interactions as well as economic ones, opening up numerous risk scenarios. In a world that is increasingly virtual and full of remote connections, protecting oneself from threats is becoming more important, but also more complex. Material and economic risks will be compounded by intangible ones – such as misinformation, fraud and lack of digital security – which will also impact public trust in digital systems.

“That is why, from the very first steps of this digital revolution, it is crucial to take security into consideration, because any one of them can be potentially critical and put the whole system at risk. Today more than ever, cybersecurity must be at the heart not only of corporate, but also of institutional strategies, at every level.” -Andrea Lambiase, Chief Digital Strategy & Innovation Officer.

Axitea

Axitea operates as a Global Security Provider, integrating security services with innovative technologies and physical and cyber protection systems within a market undergoing a strong transformation due to the convergence of IT, telecommunications, controls, automation and the Internet of Things. Thanks to the knowledge, skills and experience developed over time in the areas of Surveillance, Security and Privacy, Axitea offers a wide range of services, ranging from territorial monitoring and proactive management of alarms and interventions, to the development of specialised skills in the design, implementation, integration, maintenance and management of technological platforms and solutions dedicated to physical security, access control, video surveillance, satellite monitoring and ICT infrastructure protection.

Press contacts
Nico Paciello – Marketing & Communication Manager
Tel. +39 02 30031502– nico.paciello@axitea.com

Axicom Italia
Chiara Possenti / Sandro Buti
chiara.possenti@axicom.com / sandro.buti@axicom.com