| | June 20168CIOReviewCoordinated Response to Combat Digital Threats:A coordinated response is necessary to combat threats arising from the digital revolution. This year is the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, one of the largest urban fires in history. Caused by a flying spark in a bakery, the fire destroyed a third of the city, and made 100,000 people homeless. Increased risk of fire was one of the significant negative consequences of urbanization, arriving alongside, a set of new economic and social opportunities enabled by the growth of cities.The risks that came with urban expansion were serious, but did not dissuade people from city living. Instead, society captured the massive benefits through risk mitigation, including insurance. When it came to urban fire, our response was multi-faceted. Every intervention we made was neces-sary, and none was sufficient on its own. For example, gov-ernments required building in brick and stone, not wood, with other building codes following. Local authorities established fire brigades. People stopped heating with open fires in their homes. We developed fire insurance. Deployed in combination, these moves allowed cities to thrive, while fire risk declined dramatically. Indeed, our joined-up response to urban fire offers a parallel solution for how we might address one of today's most pressing issues: the cyber op-portunities and threats arising from the digital revolution. By 2026, five billion people will be connected through four billion smartphones and 50 billion connected devices. Our con-nectivity has created an explosion in digital data2.5 quintillion bytes every day, on social media, email, online purchasing, brows-ing, and by machines talking to machines in the Internet of Things. Connectivity is driving social progress. Businesses are mining new seams of innovation. The possibilities seem limitless. But with transformation, new opportunities are balanced by new risks. Governments and cities fear cyber attacks could dis-able critical infrastructure, imperil national security and threaten the economy. Intangible digital assets are at risk from economic espionage, while pri-vacy breaches, cost money and loss of business. On top of the commercial consequences, cy-ber attacks damage a company's reputation and leadership. No wonder that our cli-ents tell us that cybersecurity is at the top of their agendas. So how do we manage these risks to unlock the full benefits of digitization? The answer is to adopt an integrated approach for building cyber security, one in which organizations in the public, private and social sectors adopt a package of risk mitigation measuresa truly joined-up response to the growing cyber threats. Priority Cyber Risk Check-list:To respond to the risks inherent in our interconnected world, businesses must be both preventive and protective. Six priorities should be on every company's integrated "cyber risk check-list": By Dominic Casserley, President & Deputy CEO, Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ:WLTW)Risks and Rewards in a Digital WorldIN MY OPINION
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