World Economic Forum – University of Oxford
Overview: In less than a decade since cybersecurity first featured in the Global Risks report, it has emerged as one of the most important systemic issues for the global economy. Collective global spending has now reached 145 billion a year and is predicted to exceed $1 trillion by 2035. The Future Series: Cyber 2025 was launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting on Cybersecurity in 2019 to answer a single question:
This programme brought together more than 100 leading experts from businesses, government, academia and civil society. Through a series of workshops and structured interviews, the participants examined four technologies that will transform the global digital landscape in the next 5–10 years: ubiquitous connectivity; artificial intelligence (AI); quantum computing; and next generation approaches to identity management. These interactions underpinned the research presented here, which offers insights into the future challenges we face.
The work concluded that, while progress has been made in improving cybersecurity across the ecosystem, the increased complexity, pace, scale and interdependence shown by our forward look at technological trends will overwhelm many current defences. Without interventions now, it will be difficult to maintain the integrity of and trust in the emerging technology on which future global growth depends.
The recommendations made in this report are far-reaching and will require concerted effort from technologists, industry leadership and the international community. The rewards will be significant. These technologies will transform our world – but only if they are secure and we can give our citizens and businesses confidence that they are so.
