Trust in the Internet: The Economic Dimension of Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity was a prime topic at this year’s Munich Security Conference. If, for instance, the cloud service provider AWS with its 42% market share was successfully attacked, it would take down large parts of the Internet, with impacts worse than kinetic warfare by some measures.
Overall economic losses from cyberattacks are estimated at 600bn $, or 1% of global GDP, with sharp growth rates as all parts of the economy are moving online. Still, these figures reflect just the tip of the iceberg. Many potentials for digital value creation cannot be realized due to lack of trust. Germans, for instance, feel queasy about online banking: Only half of Germans trust the security of digital transactions, stifling uptake of new fintech business models.
For 2019, the global challenges are unlikely to become fewer than in 2018, based on the past experiences. The post-cold war international order as we knew it has taken a few blows again in 2018. Some key pillars and narratives are being shifted and challenge the stability of the international architecture. As often with foreign relations, it takes place in a context that consists of both global challenges and domestic priorities. Indicators for change will thus be located in domestic politics of some key countries. Without wanting to sound overly optimistic for a surely difficult year to come, some elements for a change are visible.
We hosted a one-day international conference at Soka University in Tokyo on December 10, 2018, on the theme “