The cost of cybercrime to the world’s economy will exceed $10.5tn by 2025, visitors to the Global Cybersecurity Forum in Riyadh heard.
The damages will impact on company top lines unless the growing threat is averted business and financial leaders said.
At the “Rising Tide” panel discussion at the Global Cybersecurity Forum businesses face increased losses due to the network downtime and rising insurance premiums caused by cybercrime.
Cybercrime is a global issue
“Cybercrime is becoming a global issue that affects individuals, organizations and even nations. The latest estimates of cybercrime-led damages are about $10.5tn by 2025,” said Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh acting CEO of Saudi Basic Industries Corp.
Al-Fageeh said that warnings to all industries are getting louder.
“At an organisational level, it affects revenue and costs. For example, revenue in organizations has been reduced by 5 to 10 percent due to cyberattacks,” said Al-Fageeh.
“The downtime to resolve cyberattacks can take up to 45 days. In addition, costs are becoming unpredictable as insurance costs are increasing significantly,” he added.
Also on the panel was Alex Liu, managing partner at management consultancy Kearney.
He said that Saudi is among the world leaders in its efforts to combat cybercrime and that it ranks second on the Global Cybersecurity Index.
“I’m inspired by the fact that in just two short years, the Kingdom has become number two, and I think that comes from urgency and proactivity,” he added.
Liu rates cybercrime as a top-tier risk facing businesses and nation states.
Amid a global surge in online crime at all levels, Saudi residents raised concerns about the threat of attack, with 73 percent saying that they are worried about their personal devices being hacked.
Cisco has revealed the results of its recent consumers security survey in Riyadh, the study revealed that 54 percent of respondents said that their personal data is more at risk now than it was 12 months ago because of corporate cybercrime.
Follow us on
