The Looming Global Cyber Crisis

Are We On The Doorstep of Digital Disaster?

Prologue

This piece originally appeared on Cyber Insurance News and Information, where I serve as Executive Editor. If you listen to the audio (I read this one myself), you will hear a bit of context about writing this; you can hear that here, but if you prefer to read - a summary,

I’ve spent over 30 years as a journalist and television producer, covering everything from military history to live political news to investigative reporting. That experience has shaped my understanding of how we use language, particularly how certain words lose impact through overuse.

Terms like exclusive and breaking are thrown around so often that they’ve lost their meaning, dulling the industry’s ability to engage the audience. When everything is urgent, nothing feels truly important. This weakens our ability to deliver valuable information—news people actually need.

I mention this because the upcoming opinion piece could be seen as hyperbolic or alarmist. Maybe it is. Maybe it exaggerates. But that’s the nature of opinion pieces—they’re meant to provoke thought and discussion.

The Looming Global Cyber Crisis - Are We On The Doorstep of Digital Disaster?

A catastrophic cyberattack on America’s critical infrastructure is no longer a question of if but when. The new Netflix series Zero Day, starring Robert De Niro, dramatizes this terrifying reality—a massive cyber onslaught that cripples infrastructure, claims thousands of lives, and plunges the country into chaos. State-sponsored cybercrime, cyber warfare, or a Zero Day cyberattack are not science fiction. The warning signs are unmistakable.

The Growing Threat of Cyberattacks

State-Sponsored Cybercrime: Who Are the Biggest Threats?

State-sponsored cybercrime is already here, and its severity and sophistication are escalating. The KELA Report on Cybercrime 2024 notes that “geopolitical tensions have further exacerbated cyber risks, with state-sponsored actors leveraging cyber operations to achieve strategic objectives.” Analysts identify Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea as leading aggressors. They engage in espionage, cyber extortion, and attacks on critical sectors. These are preparations for battle.

The 2025 CrowdStrike Global Threat Report found China’s cyber activity surged by 150%, with targeted industries experiencing a 200% to 300% increase in attacks. Cybercriminals and state-backed hackers now operate like well-funded enterprises, exploiting vulnerabilities faster than defenders can patch them. The average “breakout time”—how quickly hackers move from initial access to network control—has dropped to 48 minutes, with the fastest attack taking just 51 seconds.

The next war will not rely solely on bombs and bullets; nations will wage it through cyberattacks. It’s imperative we act now.

The Real-World Cyberattack Consequences

Critical Infrastructure Attacks: Water, Energy, and Transportation at Risk

• University Hospital Düsseldorf (2020, Germany)

  A ransomware attack shut down critical hospital IT systems, forcing patients to be rerouted. One patient died after paramedics redirected her ambulance to another facility 20 miles away.

• WannaCry Ransomware Attack (2017, Global, notably the UK)

  WannaCry crippled healthcare facilities, canceling thousands of medical appointments and surgeries. No direct deaths were recorded, but it seriously threatened patients who depended on timely care.

• Medtronic Insulin Pump Vulnerabilities (2019, Global)

  Insulin pumps were found vulnerable to remote cyberattacks. Hackers could manipulate insulin delivery remotely, posing life-threatening risks to patients.

The healthcare sector is already under siege. The 2025 Breach Barometer Report reveals that over 300 million patient records were compromised in 2024. That’s a 26% increase from the previous year. A single catastrophic breach accounted for 190 million of these records. The report warns these disruptions of operations are “forcing hospitals to divert resources, delay patient care, and undergo lengthy recoveries.”

Beyond Healthcare

The potential to kill in large numbers exists, and attempts at it have been made

• Iranian Water Supply Hack (2020, Israel)

  Iranian hackers targeted Israeli water supply infrastructure. They attempted to increase the chlorine amounts to toxic levels. While unsuccessful, it could have poisoned thousands.

Then consider an attack of scale on all of a system, turning it all off

• CDK Global Cyberattack (2024, USA)

The firm, which provides software services to virtually every auto dealership, was forced to shut down due to a cyberattack. As a result, dealerships across the country closed, preventing people from purchasing vehicles.

A minor inconvenience, you might say.

But imagine an attack on critical infrastructure at that scale targeting the water supply, the energy grid, and transportation. Everything all at once.

The Challenge of Measuring Cyber Risk

Why Cyber Insurance Struggles to Keep Up

Unlike natural disasters—where decades of data allows insurers to predict risks and price policies accurately—major events like a Zero Day cyberattack lack extensive historical data. This makes cyber risks extremely difficult to model. The severity of an attack depends heavily on the intent and skill of a few individuals—be it international hackers or state-sponsored groups—and the defenses in place.

For example, last year’s IT glitch in CrowdStrike’s software cost billions of dollars. It disrupted hundreds of 911 call centers, forced hospitals to cancel surgeries, and grounded thousands of flights. That was merely a software mistake, not a deliberate attack. Imagine what a coordinated effort by Chinese, Russian, North Korean, or Iranian hackers could do.

The Clock is Ticking Toward a “Zero Day” Cyberattack

How the Government and Private Sector Must Collaborate

Despite these warnings, preparation remains inadequate to protect critical infrastructure. A recent Lockton Re Report argues that a public-private partnership is essential to mitigating extreme cyber events. “A government-supported cyber risk pool would encourage increased adoption of cyber insurance and build resilience,” notes Oliver Brew, Cyber Practice Leader at Lockton Re. Current models, like the U.S. Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, demonstrate that collaboration is vital to managing extreme cyber events.

If we fail to act, we may soon face a crisis far beyond anything Zero Day imagines.