At first glance, cybersecurity and sustainability may seem like two separate topics. From a business perspective, there are considerable benefits to having a robust cybersecurity strategy in place, particularly when it comes to ensuring the sustainability and longevity of a company.
But the links between cybersecurity and sustainability go much deeper. Cybersecurity is a necessary condition to ensure a safe and sustainable future for everyone.
Digital economy and interconnected society
Digitising every aspect of our society, accelerated by the pandemic, enables people to interact with their world, friends and family, work, entertainment, shopping, banking, and more, in ways that were never possible. Public and private organisations worldwide, even those initially most critical of digitisation, have been quick to recognise the benefits of an interconnected society and accelerated their digital transformation efforts to provide even more services to their citizens, employees, and customers.
For example, Smart cities provide interconnected power grids, water supply networks, sanitation, lighting, traffic management, and essential services like police and fire to make our towns and cities more efficient, more sustainable, and healthier places to live. Smart buildings include connected physical access, heating and air conditioning, intelligent energy conservation, and safety and security systems.
Smart transportation systems allow smart cars to connect to transportation grids to better manage traffic and improve the safety of drivers. They also coordinate the growing volume of goods being shipped locally and globally. And, they help people move safely and quickly around their neighborhoods or across the world.
E-health services, smart devices, smart homes, smart businesses, and connected critical infrastructure are examples that illustrate how digital has become embedded in every aspect of our lives: professional, personal, and social. And this is just the start. These systems will continue to become more sophisticated, easier to use, and increasingly interconnected.
A lack of cybersecurity puts society at risk
Today, nearly every operation in our society and economy depends on these digital infrastructures, including energy, water systems, transportation, shipping, agriculture, telecommunications, healthcare, food, banking and finance, government, shopping, entertainment, and emergency services across public and private sectors.
When a cyberattack targets these critical infrastructures, it can also significantly and severely impact national security, the economy, individual safety and privacy, and business stability and continuity. Events such as the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, North Korean state-sponsored espionage on U.S. energy providers, and the SolarWinds hack, are just a few examples of how disruptive the consequences of a cyberattack can be to the critical infrastructures we rely on.
The vital role cybersecurity plays in today’s digital society
In today’s digital world, cybersecurity is vital for protecting and maintaining the foundational elements of our society, including national security, maintaining digital privacy, protecting individuals, enabling business resiliency, and ensuring digital trust.
Cybersecurity is a condition of national security
The vitality of today’s societies and national economies depends on secure cyberspace. Cyberwar, cyber espionage, hacktivism, and cyberterrorism all affect national security. Ensuring the safety and resiliency of society against hacktivists, nation-states, cyberthreat actors, and cybercriminal organisations is paramount.
Cybersecurity plays a critical role in political stability, protection from physical harm due to compromised critical infrastructures, and economic health. Proper cybersecurity systems enhance respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, trust in institutions, and an equitable society. And all of this is at stake in the event of a successful attack on a nation’s cyberinfrastructure.
Cybersecurity is a condition of digital privacy
Privacy is a human right. But in today’s digital society, where the world is at our fingertips, the price of that convenience often includes sharing personal information. So, while digitisation offers tremendous potential for innovation and improving our lives, it cannot come at the cost of compromised digital privacy. Ensuring everyone can benefit from these advances, innovations, and conveniences while protecting privacy is critical to our success as a society.
Cybercriminals who steal private and sensitive information, such as financial, medical, and employment records or government-issued information, can expose and disrupt the lives of individuals. This disruption can take months or years to recover from.
Cybersecurity is a condition of protecting individuals
Our society depends on safe transportation, clean water and air, safe food and medicine, and resources supplied by manufacturers that also carry risks, such as oil and gas, energy, and chemicals. These industries are not just essential; they are also connected to our digital infrastructure. Disruptions to these critical systems, like sanitation and clean water, or the compromise of safety measures at industrial facilities due to a cyberattack can endanger people’s lives.
Cybersecurity is a condition of business resiliency
Attacks such as ransomware and malware targeting organisations have significant disruptive potential. They don’t just cause severe damage to businesses, affecting financial viability, brand and reputation, and consumer trust; they also impact the customers and consumers who rely on those organisations.
Given the potential impact of cyberattacks on business resiliency, organisations must have clear oversight, processes, and procedures in place for cybersecurity. Those who implement good governance on cybersecurity, using appropriate governance, tools, and processes, will be more resilient and sustainable.
Cybersecurity is a condition of digital trust
Trust is an essential element of every transaction, from buying goods and services online to international diplomacy. Digital trust is the expectation that digital technologies and the organisations providing them will protect stakeholder interests and uphold societal expectations and values.
But with the rapid evolution of digital technology and tools, trust can be undermined, whether through common phishing attacks, where attackers masquerade as a person or organisation you know and trust to deliver malware, to the recent rise in sophisticated deepfakes. Forecasts suggest this new threat will escalate, with some researchers predicting that “as much as 90% of online content may be synthetically generated by 2026.”
Often used to conduct social engineering attacks, deepfakes, like other forms of digital deception, erode trust in digital technology and threaten society. Deepfakes can potentially undermine election outcomes, impact social stability, and even compromise national security, particularly in disinformation campaigns. In some instances, deepfakes have been used to manipulate public opinion or spread fake news leading to distrust and confusion among the public.
The most effective way to mitigate these threats is to increase awareness of the problem and educate all individuals, kids, parents, teachers, and the workforce, on these dangers and how to spot them. This way, we can reduce the impact of these malicious campaigns and build a safe internet together.
Not just a technology issue
Cybersecurity has traditionally been treated as a technology issue. To protect themselves against the ever-increasing number and sophistication of cyberattacks, companies have had to equip themselves with advanced technologies to prevent their data, intellectual and physical property, and confidential information from being stolen.
However, living in a digitised world where nearly all of the critical infrastructure and services are connected to the internet means cybersecurity has become a fundamental element to the sustainability of our society today and in the future. That’s why cybersecurity, like climate change, gender equality, diversity, and business ethics, must be part of every company’s sustainability initiative. Every organisation must put the proper measures, processes, and governance in place to ensure that the digital world we all rely on is safe, reliable, and sustainable.
