As cyber criminals unleash increasingly sophisticated attacks, CIOs from the world’s leading companies are battling an unprecedented wave of digital threats that includes ransomware to phishing and future quantum computing risks.
Nearly half of IT directors at global enterprises predict cybercrime costs will exceed $15-trillion by 2030 – equivalent to the combined GDP of Germany, Japan, and the UK – with 9% predicting it will hit $20-trillion.
That compares with industry estimates that the cost of cybercrime will be $10,5-trillion by 2025, according to new research from post-quantum decentralised security company Naoris Protocol.
The global study, conducted with IT directors at companies with minimum $300-million revenue across the US, UK, EU and APAC, reveals that there has been an increase in cyber attacks:
- Four out of five (79%) report increased malware attacks in the past two years
- with 75% seeing more phishing attacks.
- Just over two-thirds (68%) have seen increased ransomware attacks
- The same number (68%) reports increased distributed denial of service (DDos) attacks.
Recent attacks highlight the growing sophistication of threats. T-Mobile’s 2024 breach exposed millions of US customers in a massive China-linked hack that infiltrated over 100 major telecom networks globally, showing how vulnerable critical infrastructure remains despite enhanced security.
Meanwhile, the MOVEit Transfer breach impacted over 2,000 organizations, demonstrating how technical gaps can paralyze critical operations.
“Minor technical gaps now cause major operational disruptions,” warns Sarah Chen, chief information security officer at a Fortune 500 manufacturer, citing a supply chain attack that halted production for 72 hours.
Despite the growing threats, IT directors are not confident about their systems’ cybersecurity effectiveness.
Rating their systems for dealing with cyber risks:
- Only 55% say their systems for dealing with malware were excellent;
- 53% said the same for phishing;
- The numbers drop to 45% for ransomware to 50% for DDoS.
“We’re seeing cyber attacks evolve at an alarming rate across most critical areas of the economy,” warns David Carvalho, CEO and founder at Naoris Protocol. “What’s truly concerning is not just the frequency of attacks, but their increasing sophistication and use of new technologies, like AI.
“Traditional security walls haven’t been enough for a long time and are obviously no longer acceptable. A complete change in the architecture of systems and networks, their defense/compliance and validation approach is needed.”
The research reveals growing interest in decentralised physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) as a solution, with 64% of IT directors believing the addressable market will exceed $3 trillion by 2028, up from its current $2,2-trillion value.
DePIN technology decentralises critical internet infrastructure like cloud, GPU, compute, connectivity, energy, storage, and data.
IT directors identify DePIN’s primary benefits as distributed data control, encrypted transit storage, and increased resilience. Decentralisation enables the shift from isolated security models to community-driven computing representing a crucial evolution in cyber defense strategy. DePIN’s architecture spreads security across many independent nodes. If attackers compromise one area, the rest of the network continues operating smoothly. This approach means businesses can maintain critical operations even during targeted attacks.