The Business Imperative of Cyber Information Sharing for Our Collective Defence

The report advocates for a shift from viewing cybersecurity as a technical issue to managing it as a material business risk through 'collective defence'. It proposes a three-step framework to increase information sharing: elevating it to a C-suite priority, resolving legal and regulatory barriers through trust frameworks and contracts, and implementing practical sharing processes. The document emphasizes that bidirectional sharing within 'circles of trust' and the use of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) are essential to closing the gap between cyber attackers and defenders.

• Cybersecurity must be transitioned from a purely technical concern to a material business risk managed at the executive level, as sophisticated cyberattacks now pose an "existential threat to a company".
• Enterprises should adopt a philosophy of 'collective defence' to counter sophisticated, collaborative adversaries, shifting the competitive mindset to one of 'industry versus criminal organizations and nation-state actors'.
• To overcome legal and regulatory barriers, the report suggests using non-disclosure agreements, adhering to the Traffic Light Protocol for behavioral standards, and leveraging existing frameworks like those provided by Information Sharing and Analysis Centres (ISACs) or the UK's Cyber Defence Alliance (CDA).
• Effective information sharing must be bidirectional and continuous rather than transactional, utilizing 'circles of trust' that extend from technical teams up to CISOs and CIOs.
• Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), specifically homomorphic encryption, secure multiparty computation, and differential privacy, allow organizations to share data while maintaining regulatory compliance and protecting business interests.
• The report identifies four practical steps to implement information sharing: preparing the company (determining requirements and integrating actions), identifying partners, understanding what to share (based on specific use cases), and protecting privacy.

APA

World Economic Forum (2022). The Business Imperative of Cyber Information Sharing for Our Collective Defence. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Business_Imperative_of_Cyber_Info_Sharing_2022.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. The Business Imperative of Cyber Information Sharing for Our Collective Defence. 2022. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Business_Imperative_of_Cyber_Info_Sharing_2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=The Business Imperative of Cyber Information Sharing for Our Collective Defence |date=November 2022 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Business_Imperative_of_Cyber_Info_Sharing_2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2022business, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{The Business Imperative of Cyber Information Sharing for Our Collective Defence}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Business_Imperative_of_Cyber_Info_Sharing_2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }