WEF study flags cyber inequity and AI as the key challenges for 2024

The rise in cyber inequity and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence pose a major challenge for the global cybersecurity landscape in the coming year, according to a study by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The increasingly stark divide between cyber resilient organisations and those that are struggling has emerged as a key risk for 2024.

The number of organisations maintaining minimum viable cyber resilience is down 30 per cent compared to last year. While large organisations have demonstrated notable gains in cyber resilience, small and medium sized companies have shown a significant decline. “There has been a sharp increase in cyber inequity globally, with 90 per cent of executives warning that urgent action is needed to address it,” said The Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2024 report by WEF, released on Thursday.

One of the biggest threats of technologies like AI and generative AI is to elections. The report states that more than 45 countries will hold elections over the next year, determining who governs more than 50 per cent of the world’s GDP. The report says that Artificial Intelligence advances pose more risks than deepfakes or misinformation.

“With the proliferation of new technologies such as generative AI, and their use by cyber adversaries becoming more widespread, safeguarding the integrity and fairness of the electoral process becomes of paramount importance,” said the report. In addition, the cyber skills and talent shortage continues to widen at an alarming rate.

Only 15 per cent of all organisations are optimistic about cyber skills and education significantly improving in the next two years. According to the report, industry experts are less optimistic about the positive impact of generative AI in cybersecurity, at least in the immediate term. The report said that fewer than one in 10 respondents believe that in the next two years generative AI will give the advantage to defenders over attackers, and approximately half of the experts surveyed agree that generative AI will have the most significant impact on cybersecurity in the next two years.

“As the cyber realm evolves in response to emerging technologies and shifting geopolitical and economic trends, so do the challenges that threaten our digital world,” said Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director, World Economic Forum, Switzerland. “We urgently need coordinated action by key public private stakeholders if we are to collectively address these complex, ever evolving threats and build a secure digital future for all,” he added.

The study highlights the increasing divide between cyber resilient organisations and those that are struggling to maintain minimum standards. The number of organisations maintaining minimum viable cyber resilience is down 30 per cent compared to last year, says the report. “While large organisations have demonstrated notable gains in cyber resilience, small and medium sized companies have shown a significant decline,” it further states.

It also points out the widening shortage of cyber skills and talent globally. “15 per cent of organisations are optimistic about cyber skills and education significantly improving in the next two years,” said the report. External partners are both the greatest asset and the biggest hindrance to the cybersecurity of any organisation, says the report.

Around 41 per cent of the organisations surveyed said they suffered a material incident in their organisation in the past 12 months, caused by a third party. The Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2024 report, developed in collaboration with Accenture, is based on surveys carried out between June and November 2023.

It compiles the inputs of industry experts and global executives about key cyber trends that will be seen in 2024..