| As heads of state and CEOs of the world’s largest companies were heading to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos the UK’s Royal Mail was dealing with the fallout of a cyber attack: a crucial part of the country's critical infrastructure was suddenly left unable to send mail outside the British Isles.
A hacking group called LockBit took credit for the attack and boasted that it had also compromised some 40 organizations from a private school in Malaysia to a dental group in Sydney, according to a report in The Financial Times. Leaders attending the Forum were told to steel themselves for more and potentially worse attacks. The buzz word at Davos this year was “polycrisis” a catchphrase for the ongoing war in Ukraine, economic headwinds, food, and energy crises. The resulting geopolitical instability is exacerbating the risk of catastrophic cyber attacks, according to the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023 report, which was launched at the Forum’s annual meeting. Over 93% of cybersecurity experts and 86% of business leaders believe “a far-reaching, catastrophic cyber event is likely in the next two years,” according to the report. Breakdown of critical information infrastructure is a real risk because cyber attacks threaten every industry and act as a threat multiplier, Askhay Joshi, Head of Industry and Partnerships for the Forum’s Centre for Cybersecurity, said in an interview with The Innovator in Davos. | 