Goldman analyst warns cyberwarfare could inflict high economic costs

• Cyberattacks could cause damage of about $1 trillion to the global economy each year

• Two-thirds of all the cyberattacks were attributed to Russia in recent years

Goldman Sachs Group Inc analyst warned an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine crisis could trigger “malicious cyber activity” with the possibility to inflict high economic and social costs.

Ronnie Walker, an economist at Goldman Sachs, in a wrap of research on the topic, said cyberattacks are expected to cause damage of about $1 trillion to the global economy each year.

He also mentioned that two-thirds of all the cyberattacks were attributed to Russia in recent years.

Moreover, in the 2022 Crypto Crime Report published last month, blockchain data firm Chainalysis said around 74% of the cryptocurrencies, worth over $400 million, were extorted through ransomware attacks went to strains linked with Russia.

U.S.’s technology dependence

While the U.S. is less vulnerable than many other countries as it invests substantially more in cybersecurity and has stricter regulatory requirements, the nation has a higher degree of dependence on digital technology.

Last October, U.S. National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone said he expects ransomware attacks to happen “every single day” within the next five years, and to mitigate the threat, attacks have to be constant.

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In a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, first published in January 2020, the regional central bank said that a successful attack on one of the largest U.S. banks could interrupt 5%-35% of daily payments.

Research from Lloyds calculated that an extreme attack on the northeast power grid of the U.S. could cause economic damage between $250 billion and $1 trillion.

Source: Bloomberg

Picture Credit: Economic Times