18 Companies Commit To Collective Action On Cyber Resilience

In the backdrop of major security breaches in the last two years that have highlighted the vulnerability of critical infrastructure, for the first time leading oil and gas stakeholders are calling for industry to come together to stop harmful cyber attacks.

At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022 which started on May 22 and concludes on May 26, 18 companies have come together to take a Cyber Resilience Pledge, in recognition of the fact that much more collective preparedness is needed.

The pledge aims at mobilising global commitment towards strengthening cyber resilience across industry ecosystems. Organisations endorsing the pledge commit to collaborate and take collective action on cyber resilience.

Launched with the support of organisations engaged in the World Economic Forum’s Cyber Resilience in Oil and Gas initiative, the pledge seeks to empower organisations to take concrete steps to enhance cyber resilience across their industry.

Alexander Klimburg, Head, Centre for Cyber security, World Economic Forum said, “First endorsed by key CEOs in the oil and gas value chain, the Cyber Resilience Pledge is a landmark step as it signals recognition of the complexities of building a cyber-resilient industry ecosystem and a commitment towards collective action to achieve it.”

“The World Economic Forum Centre for Cyber security is proud to have led this effort in conjunction with our partners. We look forward to scale the pledge to other industries in the future,” Klimburg added.

The pledge promotes a shift towards a resilience-by-design culture, ecosystem-wide, cyber-resilience plans and greater collaboration between players.

Speaking at the event, Amin H. Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco said that as the world deepens its digital footprint, cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated.

Cyberattacks on the Colonial Pipeline in the United States in May 2021 and on European oil facilities in February 2022 forced the facilities to operate at limited capacity, causing huge economy and society-wide disruptions.

Common, industry-wide, cyber-resilience practices are essential, said Robert M. Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Dragos.

“As our world becomes more digitally connected it is imperative, especially for our industrial and operational technology, to ensure our infrastructure's secure and safe operation," Lee added.

Meanwhile, Tengku Muhammad Taufik, CEO of Petronas said, “Petronas upholds the safety of its people, assets and the environment as our utmost priority, including reinforcing better cyber security and safety practices. Petronas is committed to and fully supports the World Economic Forum’s Cyber Resilience Pledge and its principles in safeguarding our ability to deliver energy responsibly and securely.”

“In this respect, we believe that addressing the risks and enhancing cyber resilience is critical as the oil and gas industry embraces greater digitalization to capture valuable opportunities in this digital era,” he said.

WEF Announces New Initiative, Defining And Building The Metaverse

The initiative brings together key stakeholders to build an economically viable, interoperable, safe and inclusive metaverse. Research suggests that the metaverse is expected to grow into an USD 800 billion market by 2024.

At this early stage, the metaverse can develop in many ways, depending on research, innovation, investment and policy. The new initiative convenes more than 60 leading technology and other sector companies alongside experts, academics and civil society to accelerate the development of governance and policy frameworks for the metaverse and strengthen economic and social value creation opportunities.

The initiative will focus on two key areas including governance of the metaverse, how the technologies and environments of the metaverse can be developed in safe, secure, interoperable and inclusive ways.

It will focus on value creation and identify the incentives and risks that businesses, individuals and society will encounter as the metaverse comes to life.

The initiative will also outline how value chains may be disrupted, industries may be transformed, new assets could be created and rights protected.