The Planet’s Great Test After Corona: The Cyber Threat

In 2006 the World Economic Forum predicted that a deadly influenza pandemic could be one of the greatest threats to humanity in the near future, and foresaw this global epidemic, now called the “new COVID-19”, a full thirteen years in advance.

Despite having been predicted so far in advance, why do you think no realistic, concrete measures were taken in all those years against this terrible virus, which since it was first seen in December 2019 has caused the deaths of more than five million one hundred and thirty thousand people?

Perhaps different theories can be put forward on this, but we can say that people’s reactions to long-term threats and needs, and their preparedness for them, are much softer and laxer than towards short-term, everyday threats and needs.

The fact that, along with the likelihood of a threat materialising, exactly when it will materialise cannot be foreseen mostly makes not only the citizen on the street but also governments and international organisations reluctant to take measures. After all, it is obvious that any measures to be taken on a global scale would require full international political consensus and very high costs. And precisely for this reason, humanity today has been forced to pay far greater costs.

The Cost of the Corona Pandemic to the World Economy

According to the World Bank, the global economy has faced a contraction of 5.2% because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a recession unseen since the Second World War. This is expected to bring with it many problems on a global scale in the near future, above all hardship in making a living and extreme poverty. Ayhan Köse, Director of the World Bank’s Prospects Group, noting that the recession caused by COVID-19 is unique in many respects, describes the current economic conditions as “the fastest and steepest downgrades in global growth projections on record…”

The most visible reason for this outcome, which means millions of people dying of hunger, falling into extreme poverty or seeing social collapse, is the inadequate measures taken against potential distant threats, or the mindset that regards taking early measures as an economic loss. According to a United Nations report, the cost of this mindset to the world over the last two years is 8.5 trillion dollars.

The Emphasis on the Cyber Threat in the Global Risks Report

In its 2021 Global Risks Report, listing the threats humanity is likely to face in the next decade, the World Economic Forum, after infectious diseases, the livelihood crises seen as a result of the current pandemic conditions and extreme weather caused by climate change, also stresses cybersecurity threats. In other words, after the threat of global warming and the Corona pandemic, the most important potential problem that could get the planet into trouble may be cybersecurity threats capable of bringing down information technology (IT) infrastructure globally.

Imagine for a moment that in the city where you live the power has gone out, water and energy networks cannot supply their subscribers with urgent resources such as water and natural gas, communication and transport cannot be used, no transactions can be made at banks, hospital infrastructure has collapsed and internet access has been cut. Worse still, suppose there is no clear information about when conditions will improve. Isn’t it a familiar picture, at least partly, for those who lived through the pandemic? This scenario, which could be the subject of science fiction films, now threatens humanity as a serious global security risk. Although all of this happening at once may sound a little exaggerated at first, what is real and visible is that cyber threats are now at the top of the rising risk factors of the modern global security environment.

So who are these threat actors that are getting the world into trouble? And with what motivations and drives do they threaten our lives? Let us take them up one by one in our next article.