Major Cyber Attack Likely By 2025, Experts Say

In a new report released Wednesday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 61% of experts interviewed said that by 2025, a major cyber attack will cause widespread harm to a “nation’s security and capacity to defend itself and its people.”

A key theme of the report also found was that the increased use in internet-connected systems invite cyber attacks. “The Internet is a critical infrastructure for national defense activities, energy resources, banking/finance, transportation, and essential daily-life pursuits for billions of people. The tools already exist to mount cyber attacks now and they will improve in coming years—but countermeasures will improve, too,” according to the report.

However, respondents who disagreed with the 2025 prediction agreed that “Hype over cyber attacks is an exaggeration of real dangers fostered by the individuals and organizations that will gain the most from creating an atmosphere of fear.”