Cyber security remains a challenge with threat of 'deep fakes'

DATA has by all accounts become the most important currency in commerce - and hence also the prime target of malicious threat actors after financial or other strategic gains.

With the Internet having become the lifeblood of the global economy, the online universe offers a shiny target to not only cyber criminals but also rogue agencies whose motives go well beyond the pecuniary. Shadowy groups, often with the backing of governments, seek to collect data and inflict damage on rival nations with cyber attacks. As a result, for all the heightened awareness and focus on the risks in recent years, cyber security will remain a major, if not paramount, concern throughout 2020. Some estimates suggest that cybercrime will soon cost the world US$6 trillion annually, up from US$3 trillion in 2015.

Adding to the challenge, technologies in the tool box of cyber security experts - such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) that help automate a lot of cyber security defence - are also being used by cyber criminals to produce more sophisticated attack points. It is a virtual arms race. Extensive citizen data that governments collect for a range of reasons - from supporting public services and policy work to possibly surveillance - can be weaponised to inflict massive damage if it falls into the wrong hands. Well-manipulated attacks can result in the spread of fake news and stoppage of vital services that can lead to social disruption.