Climate change is increasing cyber-risks

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More frequent extreme weather events, like hurricanes and tsunamis, will put critical digital systems in greater physical danger, such as damaging underwater communication cables and off-site servers. The resulting disruption to internet connectivity puts systems at greater risk of attacks, said Messaghi, and this has already been demonstrated with events like Hurricane Sandy.

Further ways that climate change can indirectly increase cyber-attacks include causing a further growth in remote working due to extreme weather events, according to Messaghi.

Another is increased geopolitical instability due to famines and displacement of people because of rising temperatures. This environment could lead to more tensions between nation-states, which in turn leading to more cyber-attacks targeting rival nations’ critical infrastructure and for espionage purposes.

Messdaghi said that this is not a topic currently being discussed in the cybersecurity industry – “we are not prepared for it,” she said.

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