Cyberattacks are lead concern for Canadian, US business leaders

Cyberattacks are the top concern of US and Canadian business leaders, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum (WEF), in partnership with Zurich Insurance Group and Marsh & McLennan Companies.

For the report, WEF asked more than 12,500 business executives around the world to select, from a list of 30 global risks, the five they believed to be of greatest concern for doing business in their countries over the next decade.

The five risks identified as most dangerous by US executives were:

• Cyberattacks
• Terrorist attacks
• Data fraud or theft
• Fiscal crises
• Weapons of mass destruction

The top five risks identified by Canadian executives were:

• Cyberattacks
• Asset bubble
• Extreme weather events
• Energy price shock
• Failure of critical infrastructure

Cyberattacks were also seen as the biggest threat faced by business leaders in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, according to WEF. Cyber risk is the main concern in 19 countries around the world, which collectively account for 50% of global GDP.