Hughes, B. B., Bohl, D., Irfan, M., Margolese-Malin, E., & Solórzano, J.,R. (2017). ICT/Cyber benefits and costs: Reconciling competing perspectives on the current and future balance. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 115, 117-130. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.09.027.
Summary:
Information and communications technology (ICT)/cyber technologies become ever-more embedded in our economies and societies, bringing both benefits and risk-related costs. The balance between those benefits and costs, over time and across countries, remains poorly understood. For lower-income and middle-income countries both annual and cumulative analyses suggest that benefits will continue to outweigh costs. On a global basis the cumulative net benefits could exceed $100 trillion through 2030. Four scenarios with significantly different assumptions about technological development and the unfolding of adverse events changed the total values of benefits and risk-related costs, but not the overall conclusion.
As cyber-crime costs the global economy hundreds of billions of dollars per annum, BSI is doing something to counteract the threat and help you address cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is critical to business and involves the protection of IT systems and data from cyber threats such as computer-assisted fraud, espionage, sabotage or vandalism.
Cyber security is the practice of defending computers, servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks. It's also known as information technology security or electronic information security. The term applies in a variety of contexts, from business to mobile computing, and can be divided into a few common categories. The global cyber threat continues to evolve at a rapid pace, with a rising number of data breaches each year.
Information and knowledge has become vital economic resources in this new era. Yet, along with new opportunities, the dependence on information systems brought new threats. Crime remains elusive and ever strives to hide in the face of development, while cyber security is important because government, military, corporate, financial, and medical organizations collect, process, and store unprecedented amounts of data on computers and other devices.The paper recommends amongst others that for the government to combat the menace of cybercrimes, the government should do more in sensitizing the public about cyber-security through its appropriate agencies.