The financial loss of a successful cyber-attack against a major Cloud service provider may be similar in scale to the economic impact of a devastating hurricane.
The devastating hurricane Katrina that hit them USA in 2005, causing $108 billion in damage, could be surpassed by the cost of a major cyber-attack, according to one expert.
"To compare the scale of the economic cost, estimates today say that if attackers take over a major Cloud service provider, the damages could be from $50 billion to $120 billion, which is about the size of a Sandy event or a Katrina, said John Drzik, president of the insurance company managementof risks Marsh, speaking at the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the global digital hazards 2018.
The analysis of the international body, which brings together business, politicians, academics and other leaders to shape the global agenda, classifies cyber attacks as the first three risks to society alongside natural disasters and extreme weather conditions.
And, despite the fact that 2017 is a record year for the financial cost of extreme weather and natural disasters, the financial damage to cyber attacks has had a far greater global impact.
2017, the total cost of cyber attacks was much higher than the cost of natural disasters, according to ZDNet.
"The total cost of cyber damage is currently estimated at more than $ 1 trillion a year, compared to about $ 300 billion lost in natural disasters in 2017," Drzik said.
However, despite the potential damage that can be caused by cyber attacks, governments and support services are much less and less well equipped to deal with a major cyber incident than services facing natural disasters.
"Think about the synreview κλίμακα”, δήλωσε ο Drzik. “Σκεφτείτε τις κυβερνητικές υπηρεσίες καθώς και τις εθελοντικές οργανώσεις που εστιάζουν στην αντιμετώπιση φυσικών καταστροφών, με τους εθνικούς κυβερνητικούς οργανισμούς που έχουν πολύ λιγότερους πconditions, and some capacity, but not enough to deal with a significantly increasing risk.”
There is also an additional issue:
Like extreme weather disasters, cloud attacks are a global issue but, as highlighted by report of the WEF, there are elements of today's geopolitical environment that create enormous barriers to nations coming together to cooperate in protecting against hacks and breaches.
This is dangerous, as there is almost no real agreement on what is acceptable and what it needs to manage cyber security.
"International protocols have not yet really emerged in dealing with cyber-risk, something that is needed. "However, in the geopolitical climate we are in, it is difficult to reach multilateral agreements," he said.
"All of this is a difficult picture for cyber defense."
