The world is likely to suffer a major cyber-attack causing “widespread harm to a nation’s security and capacity to defend itself” before 2025, according to a survey of more than 1,600 experts carried out by the Pew Research Center.
Sixty-one per cent of respondents which included policymakers, researchers, analysts and engineers said that they thought a major attack was likely while 39 per cent said “no”.
Those that thought an attack was likely said that internet-connected systems had become too invited, with critical infrastructure such as energy or finance tied into what is a very vulnerable system.
“Current threats include economic transactions, power grid, and air traffic control,” said Mark Nall, a program manager for NASA. “This will expand to include others such as self-driving cars, unmanned aerial vehicles, and building infrastructure.”
Some experts also thought it was fair to say that “major” cyber-attacks had already happened, citing examples such as the Stuxnet worm which is widely thought to have been engineered as a joint US and Israeli program and that set back Iran’s nuclear program by years
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