Bad decisions have consequences: how cyber security could fall victim to climate change

The systemic nature of climate risk is well established, but the extent may be more severe than previously understood. In fact, climate change could lead to cyber security concerns. Cyber security relies in part on the availability of insurance capital to mitigate economic security sector risks and support the reversibility of attacks. However, the cyber insurance industry is still in its infancy. Pressure on insurance capital from natural disasters could consume the resources necessary for economic security in the cyber domain in the near term and create long-term conditions that increase the scarcity of capital to support cyber security risks. This article establishes a systemic threat from climate change that is even broader than many realize – the prospect that increased natural disaster activity could directly effect economic security via the cyber domain. Quite simply, if climate change is not addressed, the impacts of cyber attacks could become more severe, and difficult to reverse.