The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced to set up a new Global Centre for Cybersecurity in a bid to combat increasingly growing cybersecurity threats.

The announcement was made during the 48th WEF Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland on Wednesday.

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the centre will serve as a platform for governments, business enterprises, international organisations, law enforcement agencies and experts to collaborate on cybersecurity challenges, WEF said.

The centre will become operational in March and function as an autonomous organization under the auspices of WEF.

“Cyber security has been the most pressing issue of our times. We badly needs a platform to ward off cyber criminals. The center will help bring all the stakeholders together in achieving that,” said Alois Zwinggi,  Managing Director at WEF and Head of the Global Center for Cyber security in a panel discussion;

Cyber breaches targeting businesses have dramatically increased during the last five years.

According to a study, an average of an average of 130 breaches were recorded per business in 2017, double from those reported in 2012.

“We need to collaborate with the governments as well as international organizations. To begin with, we will reach out to key industry players and G-20 countries to make this platform a success for dialogue and real-time action on cyber threats,” Zwinggi added.

The centre will become operational in March and function as an autonomous organization under the auspices of WEF.

WEF emphasized on the need for immediate action to build a safe operating environment for modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, drones and robotics.

Rob Wainwright, Director Europol, said that the banking industry is under increasing threat from cybercrime and it will have to rebuild its networks for its survival.

“The banking sector is in the firing line. Professional cybercriminals are after high-value targets like banks while state-sponsored activities are blending with a growing breed of cybercriminals. We need to fight back as well via building new networks,” he said.

Kim Koro, Senior Vice-President, Qualcomm Technologies, said:

“The global centre will be an excellent opportunity to safeguard verticals like automotive and healthcare where wireless connectivity is the key. We also need actionable insights as we enter the world of 5G connectivity.”

According to Gavin Patterson, Chief Executive, BT Group, United Kingdom:

“As one of the world’s largest dedicated security practices, BT is supporting the creation of a new Global Centre for Cybersecurity. We believe that closer, cross-border collaboration between the public and private sectors, in the form of sharing threat information and best practice, is critical if we are to succeed in combating cybercrime.”