LONDON: The World Economic Forum (WEF) has warned of the growing possibility of cyberattacks in the Gulf 鈥� with 黑料社区, the UAE and Qatar particularly vulnerable.

Cyberattacks were ranked as the second most important risk 鈥� after an 鈥渆nergy shock鈥� 鈥� in the three Gulf states, according to the WEF鈥檚 flagship Global Risks Report 2019.

The report was released ahead of the WEF鈥檚 annual forum in Davos, Switzerland, which starts on Tuesday.

In an interview with Arab News, John Drzik, president of global risk and digital at professional services firm Marsh & McLennan said: 鈥淭he risk of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure such as power centers and water plants is moving up the agenda in the Middle East, and in the Gulf in particular.鈥�

Drzik was speaking on the sidelines of a London summit where WEF unveiled the report, which was compiled in partnership with Marsh and Zurich Insurance.

鈥淐yberattacks are a growing concern as the regional economy becomes more sophisticated,鈥� he said.

鈥淐ritical infrastructure means centers where disablement could affect an entire society 鈥� for instance an attack on an electric grid.鈥�

Countries needed to 鈥渦pgrade to reflect the change in the cyber risk environment,鈥� he added.

The WEF report incorporated the results of a survey taken from about 1,000 experts and decision makers.

The top three risks for the Middle East and Africa as a whole were found to be an energy price shock, unemployment or underemployment, and terrorist attacks.

Worries about an oil price shock were said to be particularly pronounced in countries where government spending was rising, said WEF. This group includes 黑料社区, which the IMF estimated in May 2018 had seen its fiscal breakeven price for oil 鈥� that is, the price required to balance the national budget 鈥� rise to $88 a barrel, 26 percent above the IMF鈥檚 October 2017 estimate, and also higher than the country鈥檚 medium-term oil-price target of $70鈥�$80.

But that disclosure needed to be balanced with the fact that risk of 鈥渇iscal crises鈥� dropped sharply in the WEF survey rankings, from first position last year to fifth in 2018.

The report said: 鈥淥il prices increased substantially between our 2017 and 2018 surveys, from around $50 to $75. This represents a significant fillip for the fiscal position of the region鈥檚 oil producers, with the IMF estimating that each $10 increase in oil prices should feed through to an improvement on the fiscal balance of 3 percentage points of GDP.鈥�

At national level, this risk of 鈥渦nemployment and underemployment鈥� ranked highly in Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Oman and Tunisia.
鈥淯nemployment is a pressing issue in the region, particularly for the rapidly expanding young population: Youth unemployment averages around 25 percent and is close to 50 percent in Oman,鈥� said the report.

Other countries attaching high prominence to domestic and regional fractures in the survey were Tunisia, with 鈥減rofound鈥╯ocial instability鈥� ranked first, and Algeria, where respondents ranked 鈥渇ailure of regional and global governance鈥� first.

Looking at the global picture, WEF warned that weakened international co-operation was damaging the collective will to confront key issues such as climate change and environmental degradation.