About one third of countries are preparing to pass legislation to tackle ransomware activity between now and 2025, far more than the 1 per cent in 2021, a new report from Gartner says.
Laws to regulate payments, fines and negotiations resulting from ransomware attacks are necessary as such illicit activities, which affect organisations and individuals, become more common, the Connecticut-based research firm said on Monday.
The forecast is part of Gartner's latest predictions for an industry where vigilance must be constant.
“Cyber security is constantly evolving, but with it comes more complexity, which possibly gives malicious actors the advantage. We can’t fall into old habits and try to treat everything the same as we did in the past,” Richard Addiscott, a senior director analyst at Gartner, said.
“Most security and risk leaders now recognise that major disruption is only one crisis away. We can’t control it, but we can evolve our thinking, our philosophy, our programme and our architecture.”
Cyber attacks are on the rise, with perpetrators finding more ways to trick unsuspecting victims. Global damage inflicted by such attacks was estimated to cost about $20 billion in 2021, up fourfold from $5bn in 2017, and far higher than $325 million in 2015, according to industry publication Cybersecurity Ventures.
The costs of cyber attacks are projected to rise to $42bn by 2024, $71.5bn by 2026, $157bn in 2028, and $265bn by 2031, the report said.
Companies are taking notice and intensifying their efforts to counter such threats.
About 72 per cent of organisations said they are ready to manage a ransomware attack, Boston-based security firm Cybereason said in its annual report this month.
By 2025, 60 per cent of companies will embrace zero trust — a uncompromising practice that requires rigid authentication to gain access to a system — as a starting point for security, Gartner said.
“However, as zero trust is both a security principle and an organisational vision, it requires a cultural shift and clear communication that ties it to business outcomes to achieve the benefits,” Gartner said.
The same number of companies are projected to use cyber security risk as a primary determinant in conducting third-party transactions and business engagements.
More than two thirds of chief executives are expected to impose a culture of organisational resilience to survive coinciding threats from cyber crime, severe weather events, civil unrest and political instabilities by 2025, Gartner said.
Regulations on user privacy are also expected to increase, with governments demanding that organisations provide consumer privacy rights between now and 2023, the report said.
This would cover about five billion people who have consumer privacy rights, up from about three billion in 2021, it said.
“Since most organisations do not have a dedicated privacy practice, the responsibility for operationalising these requirements is passed on to technology, more specifically security, under the umbrella of the chief information security officer's office,” Nader Henein, a vice president analyst at Gartner, wrote in the report.
Weaponising technology to cause human harm and casualties also continues to be a serious concern, with attacks on operational technology — the hardware and software that monitors or controls equipment, assets and processes — becoming more common and disruptive.
“Security and risk management leaders should be more concerned about real world hazards to humans and the environment, rather than information theft,” Gartner said.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
Prophets of Rage
(Fantasy Records)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
