Cyber Risk Puts Corporate Infrastructure in the Crosshairs

Cyber entrepreneur Ruth Mary says state-sponsored attacks could cause more than $10 trillion in economic damage worldwide each year. Businesses and governments still rely on exposed supply chains and infrastructure. Her prescription is an “active and offensive defense policy”—a shift that brings private companies closer to geopolitical conflict, even as the interview stresses human oversight and organizational responsibility.

Infrastructure as a target

Mary, founder and partner of operational cyber group INTENSITY Global Group and founder of ARL Technologies Group, said the line between interstate cyberwarfare and commercial information security is disappearing. Private companies, she argued, have become direct targets in geopolitical conflicts. She said researchers estimate annual damage from complex, state-sponsored cyberattacks at roughly the level of Japan's annual GDP.

The risks go beyond stolen money. Mary described attacks as a deliberate strategy by hostile nations to undermine economic stability, disrupt free markets and collapse major brands. That framing puts the survival of markets and companies at the center of the response. Workers and customers appear mainly as people exposed to disruption, while business leaders are told to change policy and spending.

Energy, water, transportation and communications are central to the global economy, Mary said. A digital shutdown at one supplier can stop production elsewhere. A major port shutdown could cost $200 million to $400 million per day, with further effects on inventories, consumer trust, company reputations, regulatory fines and insurance. Mary cited a cyberattack on shipping company Maersk that caused about $300 million in damage, along with attacks attributed to the Chinese group Volt Typhoon that targeted U.S. infrastructure.

Offense, oversight and the human factor

“CEOs and decision-makers can no longer be content with passive risk management,” Mary said. “They must understand that reality demands an immediate shift to an active and offensive defense policy.” The interview doesn’t spell out what that policy would involve, who would oversee it, or how companies would account for the consequences of offensive measures. It does identify systematic education, fundamental action and budget allocations as necessary responses.

Mary also warned that autonomous artificial-intelligence agents with extensive permissions can leak source code, take sensitive data, create cyber exposures or release classified material onto open networks. Possible consequences include a fall in company market value, loss of proprietary assets and lawsuits. She said attackers, including individuals and state-sponsored actors, are collecting encrypted financial, security and medical data now, anticipating they can break it when quantum computing matures.

“We will capture the information now and crack it when quantum computing technology matures,” she said. Mary warned that traditional encryption could then fail, exposing organizational secrets and potentially leading to mass bankruptcies. She urged businesses to adopt post-quantum encryption now, rather than waiting “three or four years,” and to budget for personnel training.

“If we don't understand the importance of the ‘Human in the Loop’ (the human in the decision-making loop), we will lose,” Mary said. She argued that automated defense systems need skilled human management and called for schools to teach complex problem-solving, critical thinking and practical skills in middle school. “We cannot wait until age 20 to build the next generation,” she said.

Who gets to define preparedness?

At an Information Technology Bureau conference, Mary moderated a professional panel and called for large corporations to connect with early-stage startups through accelerators, dedicated teams and open innovation. She said preparation and empathy for startup challenges could benefit both sides. The interview took place the day after the conference, following her moderation of its main startups panel and shortly before she went to the launch event of the 8200 Association's School of Entrepreneurship.

Mary is an 8200 alumna, serial entrepreneur and mentor. She is among the founders of INTENSITY Global Group, whose shares public company Accel Solutions acquired at a 51% stake; she still holds shares and controls additional companies. She mentors startups and works with 8200 Founders and the W2W community to promote women in high-tech and deep-tech leadership. With the Nathan Alterman Education Center in Netanya, she leads a middle-school program on ethical entrepreneurship and social impact.

The piece was partnered with ARL Technologies. Its stated answer to a threat spanning states, companies and infrastructure combines technology, organizational policy and skilled human capital. “Advanced defense systems are part of the solution,” Mary said, “but they are not a substitute for risk management, oversight and the human ability to make decisions under uncertainty.”